


Among the Ashes

by LuckyLadybug



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Ensemble Cast, Gen, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Manga & Anime, Post-Canon, Science Fiction, Video & Computer Games, Yami no Game | Shadow Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-11-13 09:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18028949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLadybug/pseuds/LuckyLadybug
Summary: Post-anime series, my Pendulum Swings verse. The manga Yami Bakura falls into the anime verse following Zorc's defeat, and confused and angry, he finds a way to trap everyone in a life-size game world. After playing parts of several games, the group is thrust into Bendy and the Ink Machine, a survival horror game where their Game Master intends to keep them unless they can win.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The characters are not mine and the story is! This is part of my post-anime series verse The Pendulum Swings, which is a redemption arc for anime Yami Bakura and the Big Five. Also of note is that Atem came back from the afterlife (with his own body) because he missed Yugi and company so much. I've been wanting to write this story for months, but only now have things come together enough that the plot has really started to take shape.

He was falling.

He didn't know how long or how far or even to where. It was an endless tunnel, a void filled with nothing but darkness and cold. It had started upon his . . . their defeat, and had only continued—on and on, down, down, until he was sure this was what Hell was: falling forever, not fire forever.

And then it stopped.

He fell out of the tunnel and onto the ground, and when he looked up, fully expecting to see darkness all around him, he saw a night sky glistening with stars, led by the moon. He saw street lights and neon signs and lighted homes. It was all so very familiar, and yet it wasn't. Something was off, although he wasn't sure what.

He got up, prepared to start walking, when a familiar and unwelcome person with wild, spiky hair stepped out in his path. "Well, what have we here?" A sneer.

"You!" he snarled.

A laugh. "Are you sure we don't have each other mixed up with someone else?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Annoyance and confusion and anger. "But you shouldn't be here; you're destroyed!"

"You of all people should know that nothing is ever really destroyed."

A sneer of his own. "I'd like to see if I can change that." Advancement. "I did promise I'd be back to kill you."

"I'd like to see you try."

The two villains collided, locking hands as each tried to push back against the other.

"Good!" the second laughed. "At least for your condition. In your state, you can't possibly fight me."

"Oh, can't I?" A dark purple light enveloped them both, and at long last the first emerged from it, magical purple lightning sparking off his body. "I've stolen the knowledge of a portion of your power. Let's see what I can do with it."

He vanished with a raucous laugh that echoed up and down the lonely sidewalk.

"H-HA HA HA!"

****

Téa yawned and stretched as she sat up in bed. It felt good to have a decent sleep, especially after so many things had been going wrong lately. At least Lector and Mokuba were alright after their horrific experience of being abducted by a madman, and those closest to them were recovering now that they had those they loved back. Everything had been proceeding well and good for several weeks now, and although that was always a sign that something would likely go wrong soon, no one wanted to believe it.

Then she opened her eyes and really focused on the room. "What the . . . ?! This isn't my bedroom!" she shrieked. Instead, from its old-fashioned appearance, it looked like a quaint little house in some fantasy quest. She practically flew out the door, only to stop short in disbelief at the sight of Yugi, Atem, Joey, and Tristan asleep at the table in the small and very unfamiliar kitchen. "Guys!" she yelped. "Wake up!"

"Huh?! What?!" Joey started. "How'd I get down here . . . wait a minute!" He sprang upright in utter shock. "This isn't my house!"

"It's not mine either, or any of ours!" Téa exclaimed as everyone started to stir. "Something is really wrong here!"

". . . Oh wow," Yugi gasped, coming awake. "It sure is!" He leaped up and ran to the front door, hauling it open. Outside was a strange meadow that stretched as far as he could see. Bizarre platforms made of large and small bricks were suspended in seeming mid-air. He was so caught up in staring at that, that he almost didn't see the walking mushroom until it was too late. He yelped, falling backwards into the doorway as it continued on its way.

"Uh . . . would I be wrong in saying that looked like something out of a Mario game?" Joey gulped.

"No, because it is!" Tristan shouted. "That was a Goomba!"

". . . Please tell me you're kidding," Téa groaned with a facepalm.

"I'm afraid they're not," Atem said. "Somehow we've landed in a life-size version of a Mario game."

"But who could have done something like this?!" Téa cried.

"The list is long, and will likely grow longer," Atem said. "Right now, I think our best bet is to try to beat the game. Maybe then we'll learn which of our enemies decided to do this."

"Hello?"

They all started as Bakura and Yami Bakura appeared from around the side of the house, Bakura sleepily holding their cat Oreo.

"Hi, guys," Téa sighed. "We've got big trouble."

"Try saying something we don't know," Yami Bakura grumbled. "We woke up in a tree." He reached up, pulling a twig out of his hair.

Oreo meowed in agreement.

"You look like you're still waking up, Bakura," Tristan commented.

"I suppose this is so strange that I can't quite believe I am awake yet," Bakura said.

"It's completely inane," Yami Bakura grunted, "but it's the truth."

"Well, I guess there's worse places we could've ended up," Joey said. "Imagine going to Five Nights at Freddy's Land or something."

"I don't think you'd last one hour in a game like that," Tristan said. "At least Mario's pretty harmless."

"I guess that depends on if the Goombas touching you makes you die or not," Yugi said in concern.

Téa cringed, leaping over a Goomba as it waddled past. "Let's get out of here!" She ran out of the house and to the nearest platform, jumping on it. A Flying Koopa immediately sailed over her head and she shrieked.

"There's a lot more to worry about than just the Goombas," Tristan said. "Probably everything else is worse."

". . . Yeah," Joey remembered. "Like the drop-offs. If you don't jump far enough, it's down you go!"

"And the ghosts," Yami Bakura grunted. "Or wait, those aren't until the castle, if we end up having to go there."

"You play Mario?" Tristan blinked. "Somehow I never thought that'd be your game."

"Bakura plays it," Yami Bakura said in irritation. "I play first-person shooters."

"Why am I not surprised?" Tristan sighed, throwing his hands in the air.

"I wonder if this is everybody who's wound up in this world or if our other friends are here too," Yugi said in concern. He walked ahead, keeping to the ground while Téa continued to use the platforms.

"I think I see Kaiba and Mokuba!" Téa called. "They're with the Ishtars."

"Ooh, I hate to think how ticked off Kaiba is," Tristan said.

"At least Serenity's not here," Joey muttered.

"She is," Yami Bakura flatly told him. "When we were in the tree, we saw her in the distance with Duke, David, and Mai."

"Gah!" Joey threw his hands in the air. "Who knows what kind of danger we're in for?!"

"It sounds like almost everybody's in here," Yugi worried. "I wonder if it's the whole city, or just us."

"It looks like whoever is doing this was very choosey about their victims," Atem said. "I'm sure if it was the entire city, we would have encountered more people by now."

"In the past, it was the Big Five throwing us into games," Tristan frowned. "And no one's seen them yet."

"Oh come on, Tristan. You think they're doing it?" Téa frowned back. "Not after all we've been through together for the last few months!"

"I'm just wondering where they are," Tristan said.

"Right here," came Gansley's annoyed voice.

Everyone jumped and turned. The Big Five were just emerging from a stand of trees, all looking varying levels of irritated or outright aggravated.

"We most certainly are not responsible for this, Mr. Taylor," Lector said. "We all woke up here."

Nesbitt flushed in embarrassment. Not only had they all woke up there, someone had dumped them all together. He had woke up using Lector for a pillow, while Crump had sprawled across Gansley and Johnson had been obliviously curled up in the middle of the chaos.

"Guys!"

Everyone turned again. Serenity was calling and waving as she ran out to meet them. The others in her group hurried to catch up.

"Serenity!" Joey exclaimed.

Serenity ran up and hugged him. "I was so worried!"

"What is going on around here?" Mai wondered, looking around in bewilderment.

"We're in a Super Mario Brothers game," Atem said. "I'm sure the only way to determine what's going on is to play and beat it."

"You're serious? . . ." David stared at him. "You're really serious."

Duke twirled a piece of hair. "So what are the rules of this game? Do we use mushroom power-ups?"

"I don't know," Yugi said. "We haven't seen any. So far we just have to knock out the bad guys . . ." He yelped as a Goomba suddenly walked across his path.

Gansley hit it with his cane. "I suppose we also have to find the goalpost."

"I figured all of you would be here."

Everyone started as Seto arrived with his group. They also seemed put-out, although Mokuba was looking around in fascination.

"Well, it's a change from Duel Monsters games anyway," Joey said.

"I don't like this," Ishizu said in concern. "This world seems fairly innocuous, but I'm sure we're not here for a harmless reason."

Téa jumped down from the platform. "Maybe Yami Marik's doing this," she said in concern. "He's done it before. . . ."

"That's very possible," Atem agreed. "Only it seems strange he wouldn't have come out to gloat. He likes to make it clear that he's responsible for the chaos he causes."

"Let's just start walking and see what happens," Yugi encouraged. "Since the goal isn't any of these directions, it must be . . . that way." He pointed in the one direction where he was sure none of them had looked yet.

That seemed reasonable, so everyone followed Yugi down that path, defeating enemies and collecting gold coins along the way. Every now and then one of them discovered a fire or ice flower, which they could hold to blast fire or ice attacks until its power was gone and it wilted.

"Well, this is interesting," Joey mused. "Guess nobody goes giant here or gets the powers to blast stuff with their own body. Not that I'm complaining."

"It's too easy . . . too peaceful," Atem frowned, looking around. "Something isn't right."

"Can't we ever just have fun in a game for once?!" Joey ranted.

"I highly doubt that being stuck in a game would ever be fun, Mr. Wheeler," Lector retorted.

Yami Bakura was also highly tense. He growled as he looked around, kicking a Goomba out of his path while staying alert for the boss monster.

"If this is like a Mario game, we have to go in the castle and fight Bowser," Bakura said.

"But I don't even see any castle," Mokuba objected. "It's like the meadow just keeps going on and . . ." He screamed as the ground abruptly dipped and he tumbled down a steep hill, crashing into Koopas and Goombas along the way.

"MOKUBA!" Seto and Marik ran over to the edge, staring, and hurriedly tried to pick their way to the bottom. Everyone else chased after them.

Mokuba groaned and pushed himself to his knees. "Oh wow. . . ."

"Mokuba, are you alright?!" Seto demanded.

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba looked up with a start at a flagpole next to him. "Hey, I found the goalpost. . . ."

Joey jumped on it, bringing the flag down to them. "And there's the castle," he gulped.

Yugi frowned at it. "Well, guys, let's go inside. . . ."

"There's really a big Bowser in there?" Joey gulped.

"Actually, this is just a small castle," Bakura said. "It probably just leads to the next stage. It's at the end of the third stage when you go into Bowser's castle, if this is like the very earliest Mario games, as it seems to be. . . ."

The group slowly advanced into the castle. As Bakura had predicted, they came out in another meadow stage.

"Look out!" Joey yelped. "It's the flying fish of doom!" He dove to the ground as Cheep-Cheeps flew overhead.

"What on Earth," Gansley growled.

"Don't let them touch you," Bakura warned.

Oreo meowed, reaching up with a clawed paw.

"No, Oreo!" Bakura exclaimed. "Those aren't for eating!"

"It also looks like this level relies a lot on platforms," Yugi realized. "Up ahead, I don't see any ground, just platforms suspended in the sky!"

". . . Okay." Joey stared at Yugi and Gansley. "This . . . might be a problem."

"I don't know if I can make that jump either," Crump scowled.

"Isn't there an alternate route?" Gansley said in frustration.

"It doesn't look like it," Téa moaned.

"Then there must be some kind of power-up to help players jump around," Joey said. "Like . . . oh yeah!" He ran over to a beanstalk. "This way!"

Seto stared at it. "You're kidding."

"Hey, this is great!" Mokuba beamed. "Okay, so whoever's doing this is mixing games, but the beanstalks from Super Mario 2 are awesome! And there's no giants at the top!" He started to climb. "Come on, everybody!"

Gansley still looked doubtful. "Is that thing really going to support all of our weight?"

"It never bends or breaks in the game," Yugi smiled. "I'm sure it was put here for a reason. Let's go up."

"I'll go up last," Téa said, mortified to think of so many guys staring up her skirt. She especially didn't want Crump to be able to. She absently tugged on the hem.

Mai just looked amused, sensing the problem. "Hon, your skirt is so form-fitting, no one's going to be able to see anything," she said, draping an arm around Téa's shoulders. "Let's just go."

Téa flamed red.

Finally everyone was on their way up the beanstalk, ducking every time a flying fish went past. There were several platforms they could reach along the way, but most seemed to have Shy Guys and other Super Mario 2 baddies. Only at the very top was there something else.

"It's a door!" Mokuba scrambled off and ran over to it. "It probably leads to some cool place inside, or maybe to level ground." He waved to everyone else. "Come on!"

"Well, at least someone's enjoying this," Tristan grunted.

"Actually, it is pretty cool," Yugi said. "I'm just worried about who's behind this, because I'm sure they're not doing it so we can have fun and be a part of some of our favorite games."

Mokuba waited for Seto before opening the door. On the other side was what looked like an underground chamber with images of Phantos painted on the walls. "Um . . . uh oh." Mokuba looked back over his shoulder. "We'd better prepare Joey for this. It looks like we've gotta find a key."

Seto grunted. "Nothing's going to prepare Joey for this."

"For what?!" Joey retorted. Then he caught sight of the room through the door. "No . . . no . . . oh no!" he wailed. "Ghost!" He messed up his hair. "I always hated getting keys in this game! The ghost chases you all around until you get the door open! Or until it catches up and touches you!"

"Calm down, Joey," Yugi said kindly. "We'll all be here with you."

"Yeah, and so will the ghost!" Joey wailed.

Mokuba sighed and ran through the door, starting to jump from platform to platform on his way to the bottom. The others hurried after him.

"It looks like there's two ways down," Yugi said. "One way is this sandpit. But that usually means the key is in the pit." He jumped over to it and started digging.

"Oh great!" Joey moaned. "Then it'll be even harder to get away from the ghost!"

Seto started down the platforms after Mokuba. "Mokuba, come back! The key's probably in the sandpit!"

"I'm looking for the way out, big brother," Mokuba called back. "Then we can just run out as soon as we have the key." He jumped into a large ceramic pot.

Gansley stared down at it. "Please tell me that is not the way out."

The pot wobbled and fell over and Mokuba crawled out. "Nope. . . ."

"It's probably this door." Marik went over to a red door and opened it, revealing a nighttime scene in a jungle area.

"I've got the key!" Yugi called. He started scrambling out of the sandpit.

"And you've got the ghost!" Joey said in horror.

Indeed, Phanto was flying around Yugi, angrily trying to touch him to force him to give up the key.

"Let's pass the key around," Atem suggested. "Then one person won't constantly be in danger from Phanto."

"Great idea!" Yugi tossed it to him. Atem carried it for a while, then threw it to Joey when Phanto got too close. Joey yelped, tossing it between his hands before leaping over the side of the sandpit and jumping down on the platforms. He threw it to Seto, who sent it on to Marik.

Phanto was still chasing them as they all ran through the red door into the jungle scene outside. Marik passed the key to Mokuba, feeling the boy needed a chance to actively help out to boost his self-confidence. "I see the locked door up ahead," he said.

"Right!" Mokuba clutched the key and took it the last part of the journey, unlocking the door with a flourish. The key vanished, along with Phanto.

"Well, now to see what's next," Yugi said.

They all stepped through the door. But to their shock and bewilderment, they were standing in an empty and dark room.

"What is this?!" Lector cried.

A cruel laugh echoed all around them. "Congratulations, my adventurers. I see you already know how to play my game. I am your Game Master."

Yami Bakura went stock-stiff. "What . . . ?! It can't be! He sounds exactly like me!"

"That's impossible!" Joey yelped.

"Impossible? Why, no. Don't you know that there are other dimensions besides yours, Joey? Yes, I am Zorc from another dimension!"

"But you're not Zorc!" Bakura cried. "Not if you're another Yami! You're an Egyptian thief whose loved ones were all abominably massacred!"

"That person ceased to exist long ago. Call me Zorc. In any case, you're all trapped in my life-size game world until further notice!"

"Why are you doing this?!" Yugi demanded.

"I fell out of my dimension upon the Pharaoh's triumph over me and landed here, in yours. I don't know what I'm doing here or why, but right now that doesn't concern me. I took the knowledge from Marik's dark side on how to use Shadow Magic to trap all of you in here even without the power of the Millennium Ring, which I no longer have. Why? I just thought it would be fun! For me, of course. Not you!"

Bakura looked shaken. "He's not like the Yami from this world," he said. "Zorc's defeat shocked him into having an identity crisis. He started realizing who he was again for the first time since Zorc forced his spirit on him."

"Oh, he's having an identity crisis," Yami Bakura retorted. "He still thinks he's Zorc. He can't accept that Zorc has been defeated."

"And what about the me in that world?!" Bakura exclaimed. "Isn't he around to help this Yami find his way?"

"Maybe their relationship is far more splintered than even ours was," Yami Bakura grunted.

"It's hard to imagine it being worse than that," Bakura said matter-of-factly.

"In any case, it's none of your business," the Game Master cackled.

"Considering what you're doing to us, Sir, I would say it's every bit our business," Lector shot back.

"You people aren't even a problem after Kaiba fires you in my world!" said the Game Master. "After I started learning about this place, I found your further explorations into chaos very delightful. And yet now you've joined forces with your enemies?"

"That," Johnson said coolly, "really isn't any of your business."

"It caused me to want to include you in my reign of terror. I wanted to study you. And this other Landlord."

Bakura blinked rapidly. "Landlord?"

"That's what I call my host," the Game Master said. "Clever, don't you think?"

"Bakura!" Atem snarled. "Every game has an ending. We're going to find yours! And once we've beaten your twisted game world, you'll have to set us all free!"

Another wild laugh. "You're certainly welcome to try, Pharaoh! But don't think all you have to do is play something harmless like Super Mario Brothers. My game world is always shifting and changing. I started off with something easy to lull you into a false sense of security, but don't expect it to continue!"

Glowing red eyes briefly flashed in the darkened room, revealing what looked like a restaurant with a stage.

Joey screamed. "It's Five Nights at Freddy's!"


	2. Chapter 2

No one was very happy with the realization that they were no longer in a family-friendly Mario game. Very dim lights came on overhead, allowing them to see their surroundings while still keeping an eerie atmosphere.

"Okay, so what's this game about?" David asked nervously, adjusting his glasses. "All I know is it has something to do with rabid animatronics. I always liked Chuck E. Cheese's, so I wasn't so keen on having those memories spoiled."

Joey looked around wildly, terrified. "This is all your fault, Tristan! If you hadn't joked about Freddy's, maybe that creep wouldn't have got the idea to stick us in here!"

"Hey, you're the one who mentioned it first!" Tristan shot back.

"To answer your question, it's basically a survival horror game involving trying not to be caught by said rabid animatronics," Yami Bakura grunted at David, his voice dripping sarcasm. "Most games take place in a security office. Since we are not in a security office, I will assume this . . . alternate me has decided to bring in elements from a game that has the player wandering through the entire building attempting to complete certain tasks."

"Hey, you said you play first-person shooters," Tristan remembered.

"You are also aware that I like things such as disturbing dolls," Yami Bakura sneered. "I found the concept of this game series amusing, so I've tried it. I far prefer the freedom of movement over being trapped in one room for the duration of the game. Unfortunately, the game that allows you to roam doesn't even have the survival horror elements for the most part. Most disappointing. And I'm sure this alternate me won't go that route for us."

"How right you are," laughed the Game Master. "The animatronics are their usual deadly, malfunctioning selves. And unlike the game, which will tell you what you need to fix, you'll have to wander through the entire building to figure out what's wrong before you can attempt to fix it!"

"Oh no!" Joey wailed.

"Calm down, Joey," Atem told him. "Let's just get started. It won't do any good to talk to our captor. He's determined to put us through this dangerous series of games."

Bakura frowned. "If I could only reason with him . . ."

"Why are you always so ungrateful, Landlord?" the Game Master snapped.

"Ungrateful?!" Bakura exclaimed in disbelief. "What do I have to be grateful about concerning this situation?!"

"I've always seen into your heart, into the depth of your soul, unlike anyone else you've ever known. You wanted to be with your friends forever, so I granted that wish by placing their souls in figurines for our game. And any time you were tormented by bullies, deep down you wished for them to be stopped and punished. I never let any of them get away with their cruelty towards you! But instead of being grateful, you were always horrified by what I did to them!"

Bakura stared in the direction of the voice, his mouth hanging open. "I . . . I don't know what all you did," he finally stammered. "You remember, don't you, that I'm not your Bakura? I don't know what was in his mind. My Yami also tried to protect me from bullies, though, and I didn't always like his methods, but that doesn't mean I wasn't grateful that he was trying to protect me. . . ."

The Game Master just snarled at him in response.

"Don't waste your breath on him, Bakura," Tristan said in frustration. "We've gotta figure out what's wrong in this place before those things catch up to us!" While Bakura had been conversing with the Game Master, the others had spread out around the room, looking for anything amiss. But aside from the lights, which they assumed were dim because it was after hours, nothing seemed wrong.

"Yes, but . . ." Bakura bit his lip and turned away, knowing Tristan was likely right. Still, he was concerned. This other Yami Bakura clearly had some different issues to work through than the one Bakura knew, but he could hear similarities as well. He couldn't deny that part of him really wanted to see if he could help in some way. Anyway, it might actually prove vital for getting them out of this mess.

Yami Bakura was frowning as well. It was chilling, hearing another version of himself throwing these comments around. Maybe in some ways, it was strange that he hadn't had such issues after being freed of Zorc. Instead, he had been left so badly confused that he hadn't even been sure who he was anymore, and he had focused on figuring it out rather than continuing to deny who he was. Had he stopped to think about these matters regarding Bakura, his mind had been clear at long last and he would have already seen the answers. This alternate Yami Bakura's mind was still muddled in madness, or maybe he had been driven mad by the horrors of ancient Egypt even before Zorc had taken him over, in which case Yami Bakura doubted there was anything anyone could do for him.

"Come on here!" Joey suddenly wailed. "There's gotta be something we can do!" He looked to Seto and the Big Five in desperation. "What about your rings?! They've gotta work, right? It's a magical catastrophe!"

"But they'll only activate if it's a catastrophe great enough to endanger the entire world," Gansley objected. "I doubt this alternate Yami Bakura has enough power for that."

"Well, try anyway!" Joey begged.

"It's a waste of time when we need to find out what's wrong," Nesbitt scowled.

"Let's give it a try anyway," Lector said. "If we could summon our dragons, those animatronics wouldn't stand a chance."

"Or heck, if we could even just conjure up the elemental powers," Crump shrugged.

Seto grunted. "We might as well."

But try as they might, the rings would not activate. Finally, in frustrated despair, they gave up.

"Hey, I think I found what's wrong!" Mokuba called from backstage. "The stage lights aren't coming on! I guess we'll have to find a fusebox or something."

"And it sounds like we don't have much time!" Téa cried in horror. "I can hear gears squeaking and moving down the hall!"

"Worse, I hear one of them singing," Tristan said.

". . . What happens if we're caught?" David said in concern as they headed backstage to look for the fusebox.

"They'll try to stuff us in spare animatronic suits, effectively killing us," Yami Bakura said flatly.

". . . I'm sorry I asked," David said, chagrined.

"Maybe the fusebox is under the stage," Yugi suggested.

"Let's pull the curtains to try to keep those creepy things from getting to us," Téa gulped.

"Already on it." Mokuba grabbed the heavy rope, jerking the curtains shut. Outside in the restaurant, the creaking gears and the singing were joined by the sound of very audible and very mechanical footsteps.

"Oh gosh." Téa shuddered, terrified of the prospect of being found by one or more of the animatronics.

Seto lifted a trapdoor, dropping into the basement. "There's definitely a fusebox down here," he reported. "Unfortunately, there's not enough light. I can't see which one is for the stage!"

Lector took out his phone, frowning when he couldn't get it to light up. "It figures this wouldn't work."

"Too easy," Crump sighed. "Is there a flashlight around here?"

"Be quiet, you guys!" Téa hissed. "It's coming closer. Can't you hear it?!"

Everyone froze. They could indeed. The curtain swirled, and the feet of Freddy himself appeared at the bottom of it. Was he going to pull the curtain?

After an agonizing moment, the creature walked on.

"Whew. That's a relief," Joey breathed, holding a hand to his heart.

The curtain abruptly flew open, revealing Bonnie the Rabbit right in front of Joey's face.

His horrified scream echoed up and down the theatre and the lights went out.

****

"Oh . . . what happened?" Téa mumbled as she slowly woke up.

David was badly shaken. "Are we all dead?" He opened his eyes, then stared in disbelief. He and Téa were each lying on a giant mushroom. Looking around, some of the others were as well, while the rest were sprawled in the grass. "Is this Alice in Wonderland or something?"

"Oh please, no," Téa groaned.

Yugi sat up on his own mushroom and it wobbled. "Whoa!" He gripped it and looked to the others. "I think this is Mushroom Hill."

"But is that Alice in Wonderland or not?" Duke grunted.

"Nah, it's Sonic the Hedgehog," Joey said. He shuddered. "Man, I thought I was gonna wake up being crushed in some animatronic suit. . . ."

"I think just knowing it was going to happen was just as terrifying," Téa said.

"So how do we escape from this game now?" Gansley wondered, pushing himself up on the grass.

"We just walk through, collect Rings, and maybe play a minigame through a Giant Ring portal to look for Chaos Emeralds," Yugi said. "Oh wow, I hope everyone will be able to handle the loop-de-loops. . . ."

"Hey, maybe those won't be here since, you know, none of us can go into a Sonic Spin," Tristan retorted.

"We'll see," Yugi said. "And watch out for some of the mushrooms; they can bounce you around like trampolines."

Joey suddenly screamed as he stepped on his mushroom in a particular place and it did exactly that, sending him soaring through the air to land on a piece of land high above them.

"Joey!" Serenity cried.

"I'm okay!" Joey called down with a wave. He placed a hand over his heart. "But whoo, what a ride. . . ."

Crump gawked. "There's alternate pathways, right?"

"I think so," Yugi said. "But in some places, you have to do the weird stuff like loop-de-loops or you can't advance."

"And as I recall, the minigame involves jumping on red balls and turning them blue," Lector said. ". . . Mokuba used to play that."

"I still do!" Mokuba grinned. "I could totally ace that minigame!"

"But it's turning blue balls red," Seto deadpanned. "If you touch a red ball, the game's over."

"Playing it on a console is one thing. Actually doing it yourself is another," Duke objected.

"We'll see what happens if we encounter the Giant Ring," Atem said. "Mokuba is welcome to try. The minigame isn't dangerous, just challenging and strategic."

"Speaking of danger, don't let the robots hit you," Seto warned. "And if you can, destroy them to release the animals trapped inside." He demonstrated by kicking a nearby jumping mushroom robot and sending it into a tree. It broke and a bird flew out.

Nesbitt cringed. From his expression, he didn't know if he could destroy robots.

"Is anyone else coming up here with me?" Joey suddenly called down.

"I'll come," Tristan called.

"Me too!" Serenity waved.

"Then I'm going," Duke said.

"And that will count me in too," David added, although he eyed the trampoline mushroom with unease.

The groups proceeded down their chosen paths. When they encountered a Giant Ring, Mokuba ran through in delight.

"Mokuba! Wait for us!" Seto exclaimed. But the boy was already through and the Giant Ring was gone.

"There aren't any enemies in there," Yami Yugi assured him. "Mokuba will be back in a few minutes."

Everyone jumped at the sound of a heavy wall slamming into the ground in a nearby chamber.

"And that is a trap, I presume," Lector frowned.

"Yeah. You'll have to watch out for those too," Seto said.

A glow lit up the spot where the Giant Ring had been and Mokuba stumbled out, triumphantly holding a purple gem. "I got it!" he said happily.

Seto finally smiled a bit too. "Good job, kid."

"Yes. Only, what do we do with them here?" Marik wondered. "If we collect all seven, is someone going to go into Super mode?"

"In this place, who knows," Seto grunted.

A yelp from Joey caused all of them to jump as they emerged from the Giant Ring chamber. High above them, Joey was hanging on to a vine for dear life.

"Joey!" Yugi cried.

"I forgot that vines come out for you to walk on at drop-offs!" Joey wailed.

"So just climb back up," Duke said in exasperation. "Or let go; you'll just fall down to where the others are."

"Good point." Joey scrambled back up the vine and paused to catch his breath on the edge of the cliff. Then, straightening, he turned back to face the vine. "Okay, let's try this again."

Serenity stared as the vine stretched out horizontally to be walked on. "Be careful, Joey," she worried.

"Hey, no problem. Piece of cake!" Joey blustered as he started across.

"The lower path really would have been safer," David remarked.

"Yeah, but not as adventurous!" Joey retorted. He made it the rest of the way over and sighed in relief. "Whew."

"I'm not sure I want to go over there," David frowned. "I think I'll go down to the lower path instead. Who's with me?"

"I think I should stay with Joey," Serenity said. "Anyway, what if we have to be up here to complete the level?"

"Then everyone down there is in big trouble," David winced. "I don't think the vine would hold everybody, or that they would even be able to keep their balance long enough to walk across it."

On the other side, Joey stared at his surroundings in bewilderment. "Hey, it looks like autumn over here," he called.

"It's summer on this side," Duke retorted, twirling a piece of hair around his finger.

"I guess it changes as you go deeper into the place," Tristan shrugged.

On the lower path, the seasons were also changing. "This must mean we're getting close to the end of the level," Yugi said. "It only turned to autumn for the last third or so."

Téa wandered ahead and through a curtain of vines and leaves. "Uh . . . guys? Sonic games never had cemeteries, did they?"

"I sure don't remember any that did," Mokuba exclaimed. He ran to catch up. "Oh wow."

Everyone else chased after them. Indeed, on the other side of the veil was a nighttime setting in front of two large, open gates. Beyond them were tombs of all shapes and sizes, on many different pathways.

"This . . . is definitely not a Sonic game anymore," Téa gulped. "But I'm not sure what it is!"

A rustling above them startled them, and they looked up to see the rest of their group falling from the higher path down to their level.

"Hey, it's a Nancy Drew game!" Serenity exclaimed. "I recognize this! It's from The Legend of the Crystal Skull."

"Skull?!" Joey wailed.

"Well, then, you're the expert, hon," Mai said. "What do we do now?"

"We have to go in." Serenity stepped through the gates, then paused and looked back. "Oh . . . Mr. Lector? I'm sorry, but . . . this game is set in New Orleans. . . ."

Lector sighed. "I thought as much. It looks like a New Orleans cemetery." New Orleans would likely always hold dark and sad memories for him after the way he had been treated there by most of his family.

Crump laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Man, this place is like a maze!" Joey exclaimed. He walked in, turning around as he stared at every pathway. "You could get lost here!"

"It is pretty confusing," Serenity admitted.

"Uh . . ." David's shaken tone caused the entire group to look his way. "I'm guessing this isn't part of the original game?" He was pointing at the nearest mausoleum. Carved deep within the stone was the name Yugi Muto.

Yugi gasped.

"Well, that's sick!" Téa cried indignantly.

"That creep!" Joey yelled. "I'll bet every tomb in the place has one of our names on it!"

Horrified, Serenity ran ahead, looking at every mausoleum. "Téa Gardner . . . Tristan Taylor . . . Joey . . . !" Her hands flew to her mouth.

"That psychotic nutcase," Tristan snarled.

"And this will probably confuse the girl too much to be able to remember how this part of the game works," Nesbitt frowned.

"Then let's just go around and look at all the tombs," Yugi said resolutely. "Maybe we can figure out the solution ourselves."

Atem nodded. "Those Nancy Drew games are puzzle games. There must be some kind of pattern to this."

"There is in the original game," Serenity said weakly. "Maybe there won't be here."

Duke put an arm around her. "We'll soon find out," he vowed.

And so they started going up and down every path, reading off the names while Crump tried to make a map of where each tomb was.

"Looks like he put all of us together," he remarked.

"How generous of him," Lector grunted, folding his arms.

Nesbitt snarled in disgust.

Lector looked to him in concern as they walked towards some old and cracked stone steps. "You haven't said a whole lot since we got into this mess," he remarked. "You're not still embarrassed about how we woke up, are you?"

Nesbitt flamed red. "I had no idea what was happening. . . . I didn't know I was laying on you like you were a pillow."

"Well, neither did I," Lector retorted. "But at least you weren't causing me to fall out of bed. It was just that alternate Yami Bakura's idea of humor."

"His idea of humor is sticking us in a cemetery with all of our names in it!" Nesbitt boomed.

"Almost all of our names," Crump corrected. "There's no tomb here for Bakura."

"Hmm." Atem leaned over, looking at Crump's map. "You're right."

"He even has one for me, which is more than a little unsettling considering we're different versions of the same person," Yami Bakura growled. "Although I have to admit, I prefer distancing myself from him as much as possible."

"What about down there?" Mai stared as they reached the top of the stairs. Sprawled around them were even more tombs. But they quickly found that all of these resting places were blank.

"He really doesn't have one for me," Bakura remarked, petting Oreo. "I wonder if that means he doesn't plan to kill me. . . ."

"I have the odd feeling that he thinks he cares about you," Yami Bakura grunted. "He's just become so twisted and warped through the centuries that he doesn't even know anymore what it is to love. I didn't either, although I never thought I did by performing demented acts and thinking you would be pleased."

"There's something else that concerns me," Atem said. "We've only been spending minutes in each game world. Why? Is it just his way of toying with us, or is he trying to catch us off-guard?"

Yugi nodded. "It still seems too easy," he agreed. "I think he's planning to make things harder later."

Suddenly Oreo yowled and struggled down from Bakura's arms.

"Oreo?! What are you doing?!" Bakura exclaimed.

The cat leaped over the grass, galloping down the stairs and over to a tomb hidden farther in behind some others.

"Cat!" Yami Bakura yelled in aggravation.

The group gave chase, soon following Oreo down to the tomb, where she sat and stared up at it.

Yugi took one look at it and his eyes went wide in horror. "Oh my gosh!"

Written across it was SOLOMON MUTO.

"That means your grandpa's in here somewhere too!" Téa cried.

"Yeah, but where?!" Yugi exclaimed. "We haven't seen any trace of him!"

"Oh, haven't you?" came the Game Master's sneering voice. "Maybe you just haven't known what you're looking at. Yes, you'll have to search for him from game to game, never knowing where he is or where you're going next."

"You big jerk!" Joey yelled, shaking a fist at the sky. "Why don't you come down here and take your medicine like a man?!"

"Stop it, Joey!" Serenity exclaimed. "That's not going to help!"

"No, but breaking his nose would make me feel good," Joey scowled.

Yugi clenched a fist. "My grandpa taught me so much about games. I'm sure he's doing just fine."

"Yeah, he might even be having fun," Tristan remarked.

"And we're going to find him!" Yugi promised. "No matter what it takes!"

"Well, have fun, Yugi," the Game Master laughed.

". . . Hey," Mokuba suddenly realized, "I've still got the Chaos Emerald from the Sonic game!" He pulled it out of his pocket.

". . . We still have everything we earned in every game," Duke noticed. "The coins, the Rings . . . all of it! I wonder why."

"Because it's all one big game, of course!" the Game Master told him. "It would be pointless to collect items only to lose them five minutes later, wouldn't it?"

"This whole thing is pointless!" Joey snapped.

"Calm down, Joey," Yugi said. "It must mean that we're going to need all of our items eventually. That's encouraging in one way. We're not defenseless."

"But it must mean we're really gonna be in for it," Joey knew.

"Then we'll deal with it when it happens," Yugi said.

"And meanwhile, you've seen what you needed to here, so I say it's time for a little change of scenery!" The Game Master's voice echoed eerily around them as the cemetery morphed and changed into a strange castle and its entrance.

"What the heck?!" Joey yelped. "What's this place?!"

Most of the group was equally bewildered. They looked around, baffled, and slowly walked towards the castle.

A scroll fell in Yugi's hands and he opened it in surprise. "It says we have to find this treasure and then find the way out of the castle, with the help of this magic wand," he said. "It's another puzzle game."

"Yugi, do you know what it is?" Atem asked.

"I think I do," Yugi said. "I remember Grampa playing a game like this on an old computer and then letting me play it. If I'm right, it's a game called Clyde." He winced. "But Joey . . . you're not going to like the treasure we have to find. . . ." He held up the scroll.

Joey looked. "Aw, no!" he wailed. "Not a crystal skull! Come on!"

"They say that crystal skulls speak to their finders and endow them with knowledge," Yami Bakura smirked, whispering in Joey's ear from behind.

Joey jumped. "Let's just find it and get out of here!" he yelled, running ahead.

"Just be careful!" Yugi called. "There's traps!"

Joey stopped running. ". . . Of course." He scowled, but waited for everyone else to catch up. "This just keeps getting better and better."


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone agreed that Yugi should use the magic wand, both because he was the leader of the entire group and because he had actually played the original computer game. The castle was large and strange, with chambers filled with gems and other treasures. Yugi could use the wand to magically open walls between rooms. Still, however, there was no crystal skull.

"This is some game," Tristan grunted.

"It's really some old computer game?" Joey looked around, still not sure what he believed.

"Yep. There's also the sequel game, Clyde's Revenge," Yugi said. "It has better graphics and really long, intense levels. Unlike the first game, it doesn't have a timer, so you can spend as much time in a level as you'd like. You also have to find gold and silver keys to open certain rooms in order to advance in the game. And the magic wand is still there too."

Joey froze. "Hey, you don't think there's a timer in this game, do you, Yug?"

"I sure hope not," Yugi sighed. "There weren't timers in the Mario and Sonic games we ended up in, so there probably isn't anything here, either." He waved the wand again and a wall disappeared, revealing a room loaded with gems.

"I wonder what all of these various items are for in the overall picture," Johnson frowned. "That person did give the impression that they're going to be needed, but he didn't say when or why."

"We'll find out eventually," Yami Bakura grunted as he filled their item bag with gems.

"I just hope we'll like the reason," Johnson retorted.

"I'd love it if these things would be good in the real world for selling," Joey said, holding up one of the green gems to scrutinize. "But there'll probably be no such luck."

"Unfortunately," Mai sighed. "Although I'd enjoy just having some on hand without selling them. They'd make a really striking set of earrings."

"Here's something I'm wondering," Yugi said. "In the game, you also have to collect power pills to keep your energy up. But are there any of those in here?"

"I don't feel like I need an energy boost," Joey said.

"Of course, that could just be because you're still on an adrenaline rush," Tristan deadpanned.

They left the room and walked up a flight of stairs. At the top was a pit of bubbling lava.

"Oh great." Joey threw up his hands in frustration. "Now what do we do? Does your magic wand cover this, Yugi?"

"Not exactly," Yugi said. "Now we need to find a switch to turn on a pathway across the pit." He looked around. "I hope it's nearby. . . ."

"Here, perhaps?" Yami Bakura reached into a small opening and pulled a lever. Something groaned and a pathway magically appeared over the lava.

"Hey, alright!" Joey grinned.

"That's great," Yugi beamed. "A lot of times, the lever isn't anywhere near the place where it's needed."

"Seriously?" Joey stared at him. "Man, for an old computer game, it really threw in the twists."

"Old games have a lot more value than some people think," Yugi said.

They walked across the pit and down another hall. Lector paused, frowning. "I hear something whispering."

"The skull?!" Joey quaked.

"Maybe." Lector walked ahead and into a chamber off to the side. The others followed, and when they caught up, he was holding what was definitely a crystal skull.

"Keep that thing away from me!" Joey exclaimed.

"That is pretty freaky," Crump said, staring at it. "It really is whispering."

"I can't tell what it's saying, though," Lector frowned. "I'm not sure it's speaking English."

"Let's worry about it later," Tristan said. "Now we can focus on getting out of this place."

"Only what if the skull is whispering directions for how to do that, or warning us about traps?" Lector suggested.

"You know," Crump mused, "there's no proof that crystal skulls really did exist in the ancient past, like people try to say. There were a whole bunch of them manufactured in Germany in the 19th century. Do you speak German, Lector?"

Lector paused. "Some. My father wanted the whole family to learn both German and French, since the European side of our ancestry comes from Germany and France." He held the skull up to his ear and listened carefully. "It is German," he realized in surprise. "I believe it's saying ‘Watch out for the . . . spikes'?"

"Uh oh." Yugi looked to the only pathway they could try, off to the left. "There are spikebeds in here."

"Everyone, proceed with caution," Atem warned.

"There's a lever to flip to go over them, isn't there?!" Joey whimpered.

"Yeah, but if this is like the original game, the lever might trip platforms going up," Yugi said. "We'd have to jump to each one."

Gansley scowled. "Wonderful."

"And if we miss . . ." Tristan gulped. "Oh boy."

"There still hasn't been any trace of Grampa, either," Yugi sighed. "You'd think he'd try to leave some kind of message for us, if he could. . . ."

"Here's the spikes!" Téa suddenly exclaimed.

The group stumbled to a halt. Indeed, ahead of them lay a very long stretch of spikes. And unlike before, there was no lever in sight.

"It has to be around here somewhere," Yugi frowned. He touched his wand to various spots on the wall, hoping to uncover it.

"Hey, what's this?" Tristan peered at one particular stone brick. "Speaking of messages from your grandpa, Yugi, isn't this the symbol from his bandanna?"

Yugi rushed over to look. "It is!" Immediately he waved the wand and several stones disappeared. Behind one was the lever. "Yes!" He pulled it and the platforms appeared, climbing higher and higher above the spikebed. "Grampa's been here and he knew we were coming!"

"That means he's alright," Tristan said in relief.

"At least for now," Mai worried. "Let's hurry and get out of this place so we can see what comes next."

Everyone hurried to the first platform and began to slowly climb up.

"If they're all the same size apart, this might work," Atem hoped. "Those who might not be able to jump won't have to; they can simply pull themselves up or be pulled up by the others."

"Still risky, all things considered, but better," Joey agreed.

The platforms were far too small to hold everyone at once, so the group worked out a system of most people steadily moving from one to the next, while only certain ones lingered back to help those struggling. In this fashion they managed to get everyone started on getting safely up—but as Atem had feared, that was too easy to last.

"The platforms are flickering!" Atem cried when they were still only halfway up.

"Oh no!" Yugi yelped.

"Are they gonna disappear?!" Crump cried in alarm.

Gansley forced himself onto the next one up. "Anyone who can move faster, go on ahead to the end of this!" he barked. "There's no sense in all of us falling."

"You think we're gonna leave you?!" Crump shot back.

"I'm assuming this is some form of Shadow Game," Gansley said. "Anyone who is lost should be able to be restored if the game is beaten."

"Yeah, well, I'm not taking that chance!" Crump hauled Gansley to his feet and pushed him toward the next platform.

Lector handed the crystal skull to Atem. "You take this," he instructed. "I won't leave the others."

"Lector!" Mokuba exclaimed in dismay.

Seto grabbed Mokuba and lifted him onto the next platform. "You get going, little brother. I'll be right behind you."

"Seto! I'm not leaving without you!" Mokuba cried.

"And I'm not leaving anyone behind either!" Atem insisted. "We're all getting out."

The platforms flickered more dangerously, but still everyone desperately tried to keep climbing or jumping. Gansley was falling the farthest behind, clearly in pain from his bad legs. Crump and Lector only barely managed to pull him onto solid ground before all the platforms vanished.

"Ho boy." Joey held a hand to his heart. "That was too close."

Gansley looked back at the drop, more shaken than he wanted to admit. He tightly gripped at his friends' coat sleeves, his knuckles white.

"It's okay, Buddy," Crump told him. "You're safe."

"Yes, but for how long?" Gansley retorted. "I shouldn't have been brought here; I'm only slowing everyone down."

"That's not true," Lector retorted. "And I'm glad you're here."

Gansley grunted, not convinced. "The only one who's benefitting from this is our demented Game Master. He no doubt brought me along because he knew it would cause more trouble."

"He brought you along because he knows we're inseparable," Lector said. "That's why he dumped us all in the same place, too."

"Perhaps," Gansley conceded. "But if anything happens to any of you because of me, I won't forgive myself any more than I will him."

"I know," Lector said. "But it won't come to that."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. No one could deny that they felt similarly about themselves; none of them could stand the thought of bringing harm on the others, directly or indirectly.

". . . Yugi, do the platforms disappear in the original game?" Atem asked.

"I don't remember," Yugi admitted in dismay. "Part of me doesn't think they did, but the other part isn't sure."

"It could very easily have been a new twist that other me put into our game alone," Yami Bakura growled. "It's exactly the sort of thing he . . . we would have done."

Bakura started and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You're not like that anymore, Yami," he protested.

"If I was battling someone I hated, I can't say I still wouldn't do it," Yami Bakura retorted.

"Well . . ." Bakura gave a weak smile. "That's still different than before."

"Let's just get out of here," Seto growled. "The way out has to be this way." He started down the only path there was.

Everyone else followed, with Yugi hurrying to get back in the lead with his wand. To their relief, it was indeed the correct path out, and they walked past the sign reading Exit, out of the castle, and into a man with seven wings.

"Uh . . . what just happened?!" Joey exclaimed.

"Sephiroth," Yugi gasped in horror.

Now they were standing on clouds while the man took to the sky, blasting at all of them.

"Take cover!" Yugi yelped.

Everyone hit the clouds.

"Well, now what?!" Lector demanded. "We don't even have the proper weapons to fight this man! We've been thrust into the final boss fight of Final Fantasy VII without collecting a single Materia!"

"Wait." Duke reached into their item bag. "Everything we've collected in every game has changed to Materia and Potions!"

"That's handy," David blinked. "But does that mean everything we've been doing has been leading up to this?"

"Maybe if we can beat Sephiroth, we'll be set free!" Serenity hoped.

Somehow Atem didn't think it would be that easy. But, not wanting to dampen her spirits, he looked through the item bag to see exactly what they had on hand.

Yami Bakura definitely didn't think things would be that easy. He and their Game Master might be from different worlds, but they were similar enough at heart that he was certain they were still being toyed with. This was only the first act. Still, he reached into the bag as well. "Everyone, arm yourselves," he directed. "This will be unlike any fight you've experienced in any other game."

"I've beat the game, so I'll lead us," Yugi said.

No one protested.

The battle was long, seemingly endless. Their reserves seemed small when compared with how tireless Sephiroth was in his Safer form. Several times Joey looked into the disappearing item bag in distress.

"What are we gonna do if we run out of stuff?!" he cried. "It's not like we went through the whole game and learned attacks to use!"

"I remember how the attacks go," Yugi said. "I wonder if I could act them out and they'd work."

"Anything! Try anything!" Joey yelped as he dove to the cloud to dodge another attack.

"Okay. Here goes!" Yugi started to act out the Omnislash attack. To his relief and amazement, it glowed to life and activated, weakening Sephiroth. But it didn't seem to be by much. Sephiroth retaliated with Heartless Angel, a vicious attack that knocked everyone off their feet.

"How long is he going to still have more energy?" David wondered as he pushed himself up. "I keep thinking he must be almost beat, and he acts like he hasn't really been affected much at all!"

"Some battles against Safer Sephiroth can go on for thirty minutes to an hour," Duke replied.

David stared at him in horror. "You're kidding."

"There's no way we have enough items to last us that long," Gansley frowned. "And is Yugi the only one who remembers some of the attacks?"

"I think I remember some," Duke said.

"Me too," said Bakura.

"I also remember playing this game," Atem said.

So did Seto. Between the five of them, and the item bag, at last Sephiroth began to visibly weaken and finally vanished into the clouds. The group was suddenly unable to stay up on the clouds and they fell through with shocked cries, landing in another dark void.

"Aw come on!" Joey exclaimed. "Something like that had to have been the final stage of this crazy mixed-up bunch of games! We've gotta be done by now!"

Their Game Master just laughed. "Done already? Why, hardly. Now that you've gone through all of my appetizers, it's time for the main course!"

"And just what is that?" Atem demanded.

"Walk ahead and your next challenge will become clear to you," the Game Master replied.

With mounting foreboding, the group started to walk through the darkness. For a time it seemed neverending, and the more it remained, the more distressed Lector became. Darkness everywhere with no apparent way out reminded him far too much of being assimilated into the darkness of the Shadow Realm.

Gansley could sense Lector tensing as they walked. "It's alright," he said calmly. "This isn't the Shadow Realm."

"I can't take much more of this," Lector replied, his voice taut. "You weren't absorbed by the darkness. You don't know what it was like."

"I don't know what it was like from your end," Gansley agreed, "but I know what it was like to watch it happen." A haunted tone slipped into his voice. "And to be so horrified by it as to not even be able to deal with it or acknowledge just how devastating it was."

Lector fell silent. "I'm glad that all of you cared that much."

"We should have all fought against Khu when he did that to you," Gansley said sadly. "I know we've said before that none of us thought you would really be taken by the darkness, but it's not an excuse. I will never forgive myself for my part in what happened, and I know the others feel likewise."

Nesbitt, Crump, and Johnson echoed their assent.

"Isn't that touching," the Game Master mocked.

"Don't we care about each other in your world?" Lector spat.

"I couldn't say. As I told you, you weren't around after Seto Kaiba fired you. For all I know, you all went off together to start over. But I could tell you a great deal of information about other people that you probably don't want to know."

"Such as what?" Lector growled.

"Such as I doubt you would like little Mokuba in my world," the Game Master replied. "He's such a snotty brat. But worse than that, he tried to kill Yugi and the others."

Mokuba gasped. Seto and Marik were in shocked horror.

"A ten-year-old kid?!" Seto burst out.

"Apparently in my world, Mokuba wasn't unaffected by your madness," the Game Master said. "He ended up almost as twisted as you were, and you were far worse there than you ever were here."

"Why don't you quit messing with people's heads already?!" Mokuba spat.

"Ah, but I love it so. That's one thing I and Marik's dark side have in common. I still plan to kill him, though."

"No one can kill him," Marik grunted, "and if you could manage it, I would wonder if you were the greater danger and evil."

Mokuba was shaken. "Seto . . . that's so awful about the other us. . . ."

"This other world doesn't affect anything here," Seto decided at last, "or it didn't, until this thing decided to bridge the gap between our dimensions and come here. But this other Seto and Mokuba still don't have any bearing on us."

"No, but I thought it might shake you up anyway, to hear how things could have turned out here," the Game Master said. "This other you set up something called a Death-T tournament, where losing meant death. Gozaburo committed suicide right in front of him, and it screwed him up so badly that that was the result. When Mokuba failed to stop Yugi and the others, Seto punished him by locking him in a darkened room and turning on the Duel Monster holograms without the safeties." He laughed.

In spite of his words, Seto went sheet-white. "What happened?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"Oh, Mokuba was rescued and the Pharaoh performed that Mind Crush on Seto to try to unscramble his mind," the Game Master said. "But Mokuba in my world still isn't the sweet boy he is here. Of course, regardless, there are still some similarities. Even here he cops a little bit of an attitude."

"Yeah, but only with jerks who deserve it," Mokuba shot back.

"That other Kaiba better have regretted all the stuff he did when he came out of the Mind Crush," Joey growled.

"He did, but he still had issues," the Game Master chuckled. "Ah, and Mai Valentine, I have some interesting news for you as well."

Mai narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"As far as I know, your counterpart in my world completely shook off her experience in the Shadow Realm," the Game Master said. "There was no Dartz trying to destroy the world, no Orichalcos that corrupted the other you."

Mai stopped walking, shaken. So she was that weak, that not even another version of her had done or would have done what she had?

"Hey, just shut up," Joey snapped. He laid a hand on Mai's shoulder. "I'll bet the other Mai really was shaken up. Nobody could go through something like that and come out of it A-Okay."

"Well," the Game Master sneered, "I'll admit I don't really know. She left after Battle City and hasn't been back. But I'd be willing to put money on her not shattering like this Mai did."

"You know what?! Who cares!" Joey yelled. "If this game of yours isn't over yet, just get us to the next place and shut up, unless you wanna come down here and deal with me in person!"

"Joey, don't!" Serenity begged.

The Game Master laughed. "You're pretty much the same in my world," he said, "except for an interest in dirty videos and magazines. But you're almost there now. You should be reaching the end of the tunnel any second. Then just push on the closed doors and see what happens next."

"Oh, we'll push on them, alright," Joey snarled, and promptly walked right into them with a yelp.

"Joey!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Are you okay?" Mai demanded.

"Fine. I'm fine," Joey said, rubbing his nose and glad that no one could see him in the darkness.

"I just don't understand why you're doing this," Bakura said. "Why not try to do something constructive instead, like trying to figure out how to get back to your own world?!"

"Or maybe try to figure out why you don't have the same wicked sense of humor as your counterpart," the Game Master said. "In my world, it was you and not Serenity who played that cruel joke on Joey about Mai not waking up after Battle City."

Bakura rocked back. "What?!"

Yami Bakura growled. Bakura did enjoy a good, harmless tease, but he wouldn't have considered that harmless.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Duke spoke up. "Why don't we just ignore him and start pushing on the doors?"

Everyone was agreeable to that. They pushed and the doors soon opened, revealing what seemed to be the entrance of a large and mysterious old building.

"Uh . . . what's this?" Joey blinked. "I don't recognize this game. . . ."

"I do." Duke looked around, tense. "It's another survival horror game."

"Yes! And you won't be here for a mere few moments," the Game Master said in delight. "This is my main stage, and you will be trapped here until you're ready to go mad!"

"No way!" Téa cried.

"So what is this place, Duke?" Tristan demanded.

Duke was about to reply when a piece of paper dropped into Yugi's hands.

"It's a note telling us to come to this old cartoon studio," Yugi reported. "There's something here we're supposed to see."

Joey looked around, bewildered. "A cartoon studio? That doesn't sound dangerous at all. . . . Well, those 1920s toons on the posters over there look pretty creepy, but . . ."

"Oh, it's dangerous," Duke said darkly, as the heavy doors slammed shut behind them. "We're trapped in Bendy and the Ink Machine."


	4. Chapter 4

"So what's Bendy and the Ink Machine?" Tristan asked with a frown. They were all still standing in the abandoned lobby of the cartoon studio, alternately staring down at the note in Yugi's hands and up at the old posters on the wall. No one knew what to make of any of it.

"This guy is sent a message from his friend to come to the old studio where they worked, like Yugi did," Duke said. "When he gets there to look around, he finds a disaster. The titular ink machine had seriously malfunctioned following an attempt to use it with occult magic to bring cartoon characters to life. It brought them to life, alright, and it also corrupted everybody who used to work there, turning them into ink monsters. Although I'm not really clear on what some of the ink monsters are; it seems like there's two different types, and I only know one type for sure used to be human."

"Are you serious?!" Joey yelped.

"Yeah. But the ending was kind of a cop-out, making it sound like the whole game was nothing but either something symbolic or a bedtime story that the guy who summoned the protagonist there was reading to his niece," Duke said.

"And I highly doubt this other me will go for that," Yami Bakura grunted.

"You're right, of course," the Game Master mockingly told him. "The ending for my game will be deadly and very real . . . unless you can find a way to stop it."

"So why did you choose this game to show your power?" Yugi demanded.

"Five Nights at Freddy's doesn't have enough going on," the Game Master replied. "I wanted my main stage to be a survival horror game, and this one perfectly fits the bill, aside from that disappointing ending." He laughed. "Start at the beginning and work your way through it. But I can promise you that it will be different from the original game in more ways than one, none of which you will like!"

"Well, that's promising," Duke said with dripping sarcasm.

"What do we do?" Téa nervously asked.

"Let's just start walking." Duke went past the group with narrowed but determined eyes, moving deeper into the studio. Everyone else slowly followed.

It was definitely eerie. Some lights were on, just enough to cast an almost otherworldly glow throughout the rooms. No one seemed to be around, but things in many rooms had been left as though people had been there recently, which only made it worse.

"This is starting to remind me of Cooperstown," Mokuba said uneasily.

Seto narrowed his eyes. Mokuba was still getting over his experience of being held hostage there along with Lector. The nightmares weren't as frequent, but he had woke up from one just last week. Thanks to this, he would no doubt have more. That infuriated Seto to no end.

"It's not Cooperstown," he said. "It's just a game."

"We don't really know it's a Shadow Game, though," Mokuba said. His voice had started to quaver. "We're just hoping. . . ."

"It has to be a game, because this sort of thing doesn't happen in real-life," Seto insisted.

A cartoony face suddenly peeked out from around a corner, then vanished just as abruptly.

"What was that?!" Joey yelped.

"A cut-out of Bendy," Duke told him. "He was the studio's mascot."

"And who just waved the cut-out?!" Joey demanded.

"I don't know," Duke admitted. "I don't think we ever really know who's moving them around in the game, except one time when another cartoon character does it to harmlessly tease the protagonist."

"That was super creepy," Téa proclaimed. She cringed and moved closer to Yugi.

"So how do you know about this game, Duke?" Yugi asked. "I didn't think you were into survival horror. . . ."

"No, but a lot of my customers are," Duke said. "We stock merchandise relating to popular games, including this one. I finally got curious enough to look it up."

"And maybe curious enough to actually play it?" David said. "Without telling anyone, of course."

Duke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've played it."

"I have too," Yugi said. "It's some game, that's for sure."

"What kind of animal is Bendy anyway?" Tristan wondered. "He looks kind of like a cross between Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse."

"He's not an animal," Duke said flatly. "I doubt this would have really flown in the 1920s or 1930s, but he's a devil."

Silence.

"He's WHAAAT?!" Joey shrieked.

"Oh, great going!" Tristan scolded. "Now what are you going to bring down on us?!"

Everyone fell still, waiting, certain that something was going to jump out at them after hearing Joey scream. Instead, all they heard was a quiet sort of slithering slurping sound, which didn't make any of them feel better.

"What was that?!" Crump gripped Gansley's arm tightly, his knuckles going white.

Gansley lightly swatted at him to get him to let go. "It was probably one of those ink monsters."

"But those aren't supposed to show up until you fix the ink machine and turn it on . . ." Duke trailed off as a dripping and gurgling sound became very audible. ". . . I guess it's already on."

"Yes, but you'll have to figure out how to keep it from flooding the entire studio and drowning all of you!" the Game Master laughed.

"You jerk!" Joey yelled.

"And hey, here's another bandanna symbol drawn on this wall!" Yugi exclaimed. "Grampa is in here too!"

"That's great, but let's focus," Duke said. "We have to find the way to control the machine!" He grabbed a valve on the wall and turned it. "That will drain some of the excess ink, at least."

"Aren't there some other valves somewhere, such as on the actual machine?" Nesbitt looked around.

"Yeah, there are," Duke said. "If it's like the real game, there's three of them, I think. We have to find them and put them back on the machine."

"Maybe we should split up to cover more ground?" Tristan said hesitantly. "This place seems huge."

"It is, but I don't know if splitting up is a good idea," Yugi worried.

"Maybe just two big groups then?" Duke suggested. "You and I could each lead one, since we've played the game."

"That makes sense," Yugi relented. "Okay, let's try that."

Everyone quickly paired off and headed in different directions to look for the valves. Since both Nesbitt and Seto were knowledgeable about such technical matters, each went with a different group.

"Well, this should be interesting," David commented as Duke's group set out. "Let's just hope it's a good interesting."

"In this place, don't count on it," Duke retorted. "There's demented stuff around every turn."

"I might be amused by it if we weren't plopped in the middle of it," Yami Bakura grunted.

"If I remember right, I think at least one of the valves is in the recording room," Duke said.

"Oh, well, that's all well and great, but where the heck is that?!" Joey shot back.

Duke frowned. It had been a while since he had got the game out, and he had to admit that all the pathways were starting to look alike. "Let's try this way," he said, turning to the right.

Everyone else followed.

"Aren't there tape recorders you can play to hear more of the inside scoop on what was going on here in its heyday?" David wondered.

"There's supposed to be, but I haven't seen any," Duke said. "Maybe that other Yami Bakura didn't want to give us any insights like that."

"Look at all the ink dripping out of the machine," Serenity gasped.

Indeed, huge puddles were forming on the floor in multiple places. And to everyone's alarm, the puddles started to rise up and take on humanoid form to attack them.

"Look out!" Serenity shrieked.

Duke pulled her out of the way. Ink splashed on the wall behind them and splattered in all directions as the creature lunged.

Yami Bakura snarled, trying again to activate the Infinity Ring. "Be gone!" he ordered.

A beam shot out and went through the nearest ink monster. It fell apart, globs of ink falling to the floor in new puddles before slowly sliding back together to form the original creature.

"Well, that doesn't work," Tristan said.

Joey yelped in terror. "It's coming back!"

"I don't think anything gets rid of them for good," Duke said. "You have to beat them back and keep running before they re-form." He grabbed a broken table leg. "Take anything for a weapon and fight them off!"

The rest of the group obeyed, taking up pieces of furniture, equipment, or random axes as they tore down the hall, slashing at any ink that started to rise from the floor to attack them. They didn't stop until they flew into a room with chairs, instruments, and a recording booth. Bakura slammed the door shut after them.

"Oh my," he gasped.

Tristan looked to Yami Bakura in frustration. "You like demented games," he said. "Are you going to be playing this one when we get home?"

"After experiencing it firsthand? I doubt the game could be anywhere as stimulating," Yami Bakura grunted. ". . . But that doesn't mean I won't try it."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "That figures."

"I wish Yugi was with us," Téa lamented. "We don't know how he or the others are doing at all."

"We thought it was wiser to split up," Seto grunted, "and maybe it was. And the Big Five opted to go with Yugi because they didn't think Duke would want to be in a smaller group with Nesbitt. Therefore, we went with Duke."

"I know," Téa sighed. "And if I was with Yugi, I'd still be worrying about everyone else."

Mokuba watched as Duke poked around the studio, looking for the valve. "Do you think Duke really wouldn't have been able to deal with being in a group with Nesbitt?"

"Honestly, I don't know how Duke feels about Nesbitt right now," Seto grunted, "but he's a logical person. If something has to be done, he'll do it." He started looking for the valve as well. "I could deal with being in a group with Nesbitt at this point."

"I think I could too," Mokuba said, "but everybody's different. Maybe Duke would be worried for Serenity to be in a smaller group with Nesbitt."

"Especially if he wasn't there to see what was happening," Seto grunted. "So if Serenity had been in that group, Duke would have wanted to lead it instead of this one."

David idly ran his hand over a guitar's strings as he walked past.

Duke started. "I just remembered! There's a secret room that has to be opened by playing a code on the instruments!" He came back to the guitar. "The weird thing is, it's always different." He plucked a few strings, then went over to the piano and hit some of the keys.

"Let's look around the room and see if Yugi's grandfather might have left any other clues," Marik suggested. "If he found one of the combinations, he might have left behind a signal for us."

Everyone was agreeable to that, so they spread out around the room, paying particular attention to the area surrounding each instrument.

"There is something," Seto noted after a moment. "There are different bandanna symbols above several of the instruments. It's some kind of code."

"He must be telling which notes to hit," Marik said.

Duke, Seto, and Yami Bakura worked with the bandannas for a long time, trying various combinations and attempting to de-code the symbols. The others, restless and worried, wandered around the studio and looked for other clues. Oreo tried to play a banjo by reaching down to it with a paw as Bakura walked past holding her.

"Couldn't those freaky ink monsters ooze in under the door?" Téa worried.

"Let's just hope they don't," Tristan retorted. "But we'll be ready for them if they do."

"I'll never be ready for them!" Joey cried. "Those things are unreal!"

A sudden creaking brought their attention up. A secret door had just swung open.

"You did it!" Serenity exclaimed in relief.

Duke hurried inside. "And here's the valve!"

". . . What's that creepy whispering?" Téa gasped.

Duke paused to listen. The sounds were just loud enough to recognize as words, without being able to tell what they were saying. "I don't know, and I don't want to know," he flatly said. "The guy who hangs out here is messing with the occult."

"Well, that's disturbing," David shuddered.

"Interesting," Yami Bakura sneered.

"Are you serious?!" Tristan exclaimed.

Yami Bakura smirked at him. "What do you think?"

". . . You probably are," Tristan groaned.

Duke grabbed the valve and ran out. "Two more to go."

"And we can't keep in touch with the other group," David said in chagrin.

"So we'll just have to go back to the ink machine, put this valve on, and hope we'll meet them there," Duke said.

"Do you ever wonder how the valves came off in the first place?" Mai remarked.

"Sure," Tristan said, "but that's not the kind of answer you're going to get in a puzzle game. Stuff's always dismantled in those for no real reason so you can find and fix it."

"Oh joy," Marik muttered.

"Well, then, boys and girls, let's get out there and get back to that ink machine," Mai said.

"And be prepared for more ink monster battles," Yami Bakura grunted.

Duke opened the door and stepped back into the corridor. The ink monsters were right there to greet him, rising up and wobbling around him from all sides.

"Gah!" Joey yelped.

Everyone charged, swinging their weapons. As ink flew in all directions, Duke ran ahead to lead them back to the machine.

"I hope the other group found the two remaining valves," he muttered.

****

"I hope it won't take long to find the valves," Yugi worried as his group picked their way down a deserted hall. Another Bendy cut-out briefly peeked out at them and then disappeared again.

"We'll have to look everywhere," Atem said, moving a crooked poster of a Bendy cartoon to look behind it.

"And in a place like this, we'll have to be prepared for anything," Crump said. "Like secret panels and that kind of thing. Right?"

"Probably," Yugi said in concern. "I'm sure this other Yami Bakura will have put in things that the original game doesn't have."

At that moment he stepped on a panel of floor that suddenly flew open under his feet. A cry of surprise leapt from his lips as he plummeted.

"Yugi!" Atem lunged in alarm, desperately grabbing for him. To his surprise, Gansley also came over, thrusting his cane down the hole for Yugi to catch. But when Yugi took hold of it, something else took hold of him.

"Gah!" He kicked out desperately, but the thing held fast and pulled. Gansley, unable to hold both Yugi and whatever was grabbing him, toppled into the hole as well.

"Gansley!" Lector lunged, frantic to grab him, but the trapdoor closed with a bang.

Nesbitt and Crump tore over, banging on it in desperation, but to no avail. It wouldn't open again. Johnson stood by, badly shaken.

"Oh no," Atem said in horror. "We have to find another way down to that floor!"

"And now we've lost the person in our group who played the game," Lector realized. "We'll be going in blind."

"And until we find them, you'll have to lead us, Lector," Nesbitt said through gritted teeth. "You're Gansley's second-in-command."

"We'll be down there in a few minutes," Lector insisted. But what he wasn't sure of was what would have happened to Gansley and Yugi by then. Considering that something was already with them, it wasn't encouraging.

"And how far did they fall?!" Crump suddenly cried, his voice strangled. "Gansley's legs are already bad. If they're hurt worse . . . !"

"Let's not think about the worst-case scenarios," Atem interrupted. "We have to keep our hope." He stood. "Let's go find our dear friends."

****

Gansley grimaced as he slowly woke up. For a moment he couldn't remember what had happened or why he was laying face-down on the floor. Then he tried to move and pain shot through his legs. He slumped back into the floor with a grunt.

He was up again in the next instant. "Yugi?" The kid was lying near him, still either dazed or unconscious. Whatever had pulled them through the trapdoor was gone, but he wasn't convinced it wasn't nearby, waiting to cause more havoc. He gripped Yugi's shoulder. "Wake up, boy." How strange, to actually be worried about him . . . to have even got himself hurt because of trying to rescue him. . . .

Yugi groaned and stirred. "Gansley?" He opened his eyes, weakly. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Gansley snorted.

"Yeah," Yugi mumbled. "You fell. . . ."

"So did you," Gansley pointed out.

"You fell from a higher distance, because you were trying to save me," Yugi said softly. "I was holding onto your cane, so I was lower. . . ."

Well, Gansley couldn't argue with that logic. "I'm alright," he insisted, "but I don't know what pulled us down." He slowly sat up, and Yugi followed suit.

"We should try calling the others," Yugi said. But his phone proclaimed No Signal as he took it out to look at it. "Oh no. . . ."

Gansley found the same situation. "I suppose that shouldn't be a surprise." He shoved the phone back in his pocket. "Well, if you can get up, we had better start looking for the way back up."

"The others will be on their way down," Yugi said. "But yeah, we should try to meet them halfway." He got up, grimacing, and placed a hand on his back.

"Now you look like me in the morning," Gansley grunted. He found his cane and used it as leverage to get up as well.

"I'm okay," Yugi promised. "Just a little stiff. . . ." He spun around as eyes bored into his back, but when he looked, nothing was there. "That's weird. . . ."

Gansley growled. "We're being watched. That's obvious. It would be better if it would just come out instead of foolishly trying to pretend it isn't there."

Eerie laughter echoed around them. "Oh, you want me to come out?" a cruel and crazed voice mocked. "I don't think so. But what I will do is make the both of you sacrifices for my master, the great Bendy."

"What?!" Gansley exclaimed.

Yugi's eyes widened in alarm. He knew what was coming next.

"If he's pleased, he will restore my humanity," the voice continued.

In spite of himself, Gansley was chilled. This was someone who had gone mad in here, perhaps one of the corrupted ink monsters, and he wanted to exchange innocent lives for his lost humanity. He wanted to return to the life he had once known. Even if it was just a game . . . even if that person didn't really exist . . . Gansley couldn't help drawing a parallel with the Big Five's hateful and crazed behavior in Noa's virtual world.

"He's going to perform a ritual," Yugi cried. "We have to get out of here!"

"You know I won't be able to run," Gansley told him. "Get out of here, boy. I'll do what I can on my own."

"I won't leave you," Yugi shot back. "You're only in this mess because you tried to help me! And even if that wasn't true . . . I couldn't forgive myself if I just left you."

Gansley stared at him. "And that is why kindness and compassion are often absent in the corporate world. Staying behind with me is the worst business decision you could make."

"Well . . ." Yugi gave a sad smile. "Then it's good I'm not a businessman." He laid his hand on Gansley's. "We're in this together. Anyway, you wouldn't leave your friends, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't," Gansley grunted.

A bizarre, otherworldly giggling came from the shadows. As whatever it was started to step into the light, it cast its shadow on the floor—a mysteriously horned shadow with heavily gloved hands. . . .

"Look out!" Yugi cried. "It's Bendy! He's coming!"

They ducked into the shadows, Gansley keeping his cane at the ready to beat back whatever came at them. They could hear it scrambling over the floor, and in terror they moved farther away from it, running as fast as they possibly could. Gansley was really quite surprised by how fast his legs could move, even as they were throbbing.

They fell into the elevator by accident. It cranked to life, moving them down before they could recover enough to tell it to go up instead.

"This is better anyway," Yugi gulped. "We can't lead Bendy back to everyone else. . . ."

"Are you forgetting that the Pharaoh and the thief have those magic objects?" Gansley retorted. "Leading it back to them could be its undoing!"

"Yeah, if their magic works in here," Yugi said. "The way things are going, it would probably backfire!"

Gansley couldn't deny the possibility. When the elevator stopped, he carefully got out. The coast seemed clear, and he gestured for Yugi to join him. For several moments they walked in silence, tense, wondering if any moment Bendy was going to leap out at them.

"You know, that thing that chased us . . . it's not like the antagonist Bendy in the game," Yugi said. "It really looked like the actual cartoon character. In the game, it's a horrible creature made of ink and it doesn't talk or laugh. I guess that's one of the differences?"

Gansley didn't really care. "That . . . person," he said at last. "The one who wants to sacrifice us. . . . Who is that?"

". . . I guess it depends on how closely things are going to follow the game," Yugi said. "There's already been some differences. But it's supposed to be one of the people who worked here, Sammy." He bit his lip. "He's a kind of ink monster that still has a sense of self. They're called the Lost Ones. The others are called the Searchers. If they were also human, they don't seem to remember it. They just come up and mindlessly attack . . ."

Almost as if on cue, a puddle of ink rose off the floor with arms outstretched to grab them both. Gansley slammed it with his cane, forcing it back into a puddle on the floor.

". . . Like that," Yugi finished with a shudder.

"It's too much like we were," Gansley said, his voice barely above a whisper. "The others and I. . . . We were so desperate to live in the real world again, no matter who we had to hurt to get there."

"The keyword is were," Yugi said softly. "You're not like that anymore. You risked your life to try to save me! And the others have done the same. All of you protected Kaiba from Gozaburo! And Lector's put himself on the line for Mokuba more than once. . . ." He smiled. "I never thought this could be the case, but I trust you just as much as I trust Joey and Téa and all the rest. You guys are all part of the team, and I'm proud to call you my friend."

"Hmm." Gansley had to admit, he was touched in spite of himself. He looked away, but Yugi still caught a trace of his smile. It wasn't something he had ever thought he would see, and it was a nice surprise.

"I'd like to think that my children turned out like you," Gansley mused. Another ink monster started to rise up and he struck it down.

"I hope you'll find them someday," Yugi said. "Or that maybe they'll come looking for you."

"I would like that, but I long ago gave up on it," Gansley said. "My ex-wife likely poisoned them all against me. By now they no doubt have children of their own, and still none of them have ever bothered to look me up. They just don't care."

"That's just wrong," Yugi said. "They should want to see you. You never did anything to deliberately hurt them, I'm sure."

"No, I didn't," Gansley said. "But I was a ruthless businessman. I still know how to be, I can assure you."

"I'm sure you do," Yugi said.

He stopped, catching sight of something drawn in ink on a support beam. "Hey! Grampa's been here! Here's his signal again!"

"You know, we don't really know he's anywhere in here," Gansley said. "All we have to go on is a name on a tomb and these bandanna symbols. Our captor could so easily fake those. There's no proof your grandfather is leaving them for you."

". . . I guess that's true," Yugi admitted, looking down. "But I still want to believe."

"Of course you do," Gansley said. "But believing can be dangerous."

Cold and feminine laughter suddenly filled the strange space. "Is that how you feel about everything? What about believing in angels?"

Yugi stopped walking and started to turn pale. "Oh no. . . ."

"What now?" Gansley grunted.

"That person," Yugi whispered. "She's anything but an angel."


	5. Chapter 5

Atem's group was still desperately searching for the way downstairs. So far they had roamed blindly through several rooms without any success to that end. They had found one of the valves, and Atem realized that in their panic and worry, they had been neglecting their original objective.

"We have to get this valve back to the ink machine," he told his companions. "You can hear the ink is filling up the levels fast. It will flood everything if we don't stop it, including the floor where Yugi and Gansley are."

Lector clenched a fist. "You're right. They might even drown if they're laying unconscious down there. We'll have to take care of the machine first."

"But we're still missing one valve, unless the other group found both of the others," Nesbitt pointed out.

"We'll just have to hope they have," Atem said.

He led the group through the twisting halls and back to the ink machine. As they arrived, Duke's group was running up from another direction. Seto practically flew the rest of the way to fix the missing valve in its place.

"Atem!" Joey called. "What's going on?! Where's Yugi?!"

"It's a terrible story," Atem said. He handed the valve to Nesbitt to put in place. "Yugi fell through a trapdoor. Gansley tried to save him and he fell too. We haven't been able to find a way down yet."

"Oh no!" Téa cried.

Mokuba looked to Lector in alarm. He could see the man's worry and anguish over his missing friend. And the way things had been going, he wouldn't be surprised if Lector was upset over Yugi as well. Mokuba was certainly worried for them both, and for everyone agonizing over their well-being.

"Aww man," Joey frowned. "They could have got real hurt falling down like that."

"And what's worse is that something grabbed Yugi and pulled them both down!" Crump interjected. "We have no idea what it was or why it did it!"

Téa fell back, looking sick. "No. . . ."

"Hey, they're both tough," Mai told her. "They'll be okay."

"And meanwhile, we're still missing one valve," Duke said in distress. "And I don't think I remember where the other one was supposed to be! We'll have to wander around everywhere, and we just don't have time!"

"It's all we can do," Atem said. "We don't have time not to."

Desperate to find it, everyone separated again, this time into smaller groups to cover more ground. It was Serenity who at last uncovered it in an out-of-the-way room, and she held it up in relief. "Here it is!"

"Great!" Duke said. "Now let's get it back where it belongs."

They wasted no time in heading back to the ink machine. Any ink monsters that rose up in their path were quickly beaten back, and the Big Four were hurrying over to them as the final one fell away.

"Do you have it?" Nesbitt demanded.

"Right here." Serenity held it out to him and he took it, immediately setting it in place with the others. As he turned all the valves, they creaked, the ink machine bubbled, and it settled down at last.

"Oh boy." Duke slumped against it in relief. "That was too close."

"We still don't know what it's like on the floor below us," Nesbitt growled. "Gansley and Yugi might already be dead."

"No, they can't be!" Serenity cried.

"We sure hope they're not," Duke said. "But honestly, in this place, who can say?" He clenched a fist.

"We have to start trying again to get down to them," Lector said. "There has to be a way. . . ."

"You know, there's supposed to be a boarded-up part of the studio that you can start breaking into with an axe," Duke said. "I wouldn't think our crazy Game Master would take that away, but we haven't run into it even though it happens really early on."

"Maybe the stairs are there!" Nesbitt exclaimed. "Let's start looking. We have to find them!"

"Maybe we should wait for everyone else to catch up first," Serenity said uneasily.

"Gansley and Yugi might both be hurt," Nesbitt pointed out. "We need to find them as soon as possible!"

"I agree with Nesbitt," Lector said. "If someone wants to stay behind and wait for the others, they can. We should resume looking for the stairs."

"Serenity and I can stay," David suggested. "Duke should try to help you find the boarded-up area."

"Wait. Here come some more now," Duke reported, looking to where Téa and the Kaibas and the Ishtars were approaching. From their expressions, they had definitely heard the conversation.

"I say get going," Seto said as they drew closer. "It's vital to find the others. There's no telling what's happened to them!"

"Alright." Duke turned to go. "We'll look for the stairs."

"And I'm coming with you, Duke," Serenity insisted.

"Don't think you can keep me behind," David added.

"Hey, you were willing to stay behind a minute ago," Duke retorted.

"Only when no one else was here to wait for the others," David smiled. "I'd much rather come along and try to keep you out of trouble, Dukey-Boy."

"Ha ha," Duke said with a roll of his eyes. But he was grateful, as long as David and Serenity didn't get hurt.

"For all we know, maybe someone else has found the stairs," Marik remarked.

"They'll look anyway," Seto grunted.

"Oh, I hope they find them," Téa fretted.

"As soon as the others come, we'll go look too," Seto promised.

"I hope they're not really far away," Mokuba worried.

"I wonder how big this studio really is," Marik frowned.

"Big enough," Seto said flatly.

****

Gansley tensed and stared as a strange woman-like creature emerged from the shadows of a doorway and stood over them. She looked like an ink monster in composition, only more like a bottle of White-Out. But while one side of her face was unblemished, the other side was twisted and disfigured.

"I'm Alice Angel," she said in a deep and merciless voice. "I wondered if I'd ever see anyone down here who isn't a cartoon character." She sneered. "I see quite a lot of them."

Yugi seemed to know what they were going to see, but he still cringed in horror at the sight of lifeless bodies all around, in every shadow. "What did you do?" he gasped.

"I take their energy and essence for myself," Alice said. "You can see it's been working. I'm not like those disgusting creatures that ooze around the studio and attack anything that moves. I have intelligence, intellect! If I keep taking from them, eventually I'll be perfect again." She gestured at a poster of a beautiful cartoon character called Alice Angel.

Gansley was appalled. ". . . What do you want with us?" he demanded.

"Well . . ." Alice studied them. "I suppose I could use the both of you to run a few errands for me. There's always things I need done."

"Such as?" Gansley grunted.

Alice thought about it and finally smirked. "How about you boys take this axe and start chopping up all the demon cut-outs you find? They're such an eyesore."

Relief flickered in Yugi's eyes. "You're on!" He took the axe. "We won't let you down."

"You'd better not." Alice disappeared through the doorway and it clanged shut.

Gansley turned to look at Yugi with a frown. "You were expecting her to ask something else."

Yugi shuddered. "Some of her other missions are a lot more disturbing, like going after ink monsters with really thick ink and catching them for her to use on herself. Since we're not even sure if all of the ink monsters used to be human, I kind of hate to do that mission even in a game."

Gansley frowned more. So many things in this game really did remind him of the Big Five's turmoil and their past sins. It wasn't pleasant in the least.

"And destroying the cut-outs is going to make the real Bendy mad," Yugi gulped, "so this is a pretty dangerous mission too." He swiped at the first Bendy cut-out.

"What if we refuse to help her?" Gansley grunted.

"That's not even an option in the actual game," Yugi said. "I don't even want to think about what would happen here if we tried it."

". . . Good point." Gansley looked around and soon spotted another cut-out. He hit it with his cane, bending it in half.

A strange hissing sound suddenly met their ears and they froze, looking around for its source.

". . . I suppose that was Bendy," Gansley grunted.

"Probably," Yugi agreed.

The shadow of a gloved hand appeared on the wall, reaching out for them. Gansley stumbled back, brandishing his cane, while Yugi gripped the axe.

"And of course Alice knew she was putting us in danger by instructing us to do this," Gansley growled.

"I'm afraid so," Yugi gulped.

"So what now?" Gansley held his ground but was prepared to flee if necessary.

"I think . . ." Bendy started to step into the light. "I think we should run!" Yugi grabbed Gansley's wrist and tried to pull him into the shadows. Gansley wasted no time in running with him as fast and as desperately as he could.

They tore blindly down the hall, striking down any rising ink monsters they happened to run across. The first chance they saw an open door, they ran through it, Yugi slamming it shut behind them.

"So, where's this now?" Gansley grunted. He turned to look around.

"I think it's the theatre," Yugi said. "They'd screen the cartoons here. There's the projection booth up there. . . ." He stiffened at the sound of something whirring nearby. "And . . . um . . . that might be the Projectionist. . . ."

Gansley turned to look and found himself staring at a camera. It continued to make whirring sounds, and the light in front began to blink on and off. Then it started to reach for him with an inky hand. Gansley immediately slapped at it with his cane. "What manner of creature is this?!"

"The Projectionist," Yugi said. "And . . . oh no. . . . We should get out of here. . . ."

"Why?!" Gansley demanded. "Is it dangerous?"

"You could say that," Yugi said. "It's supposed to get furious if it sees anyone around at all. I'm surprised it's not chasing us right now. Then later, Bendy kills it. So . . . yeah, I think either way, we should go."

"What's worse, Bendy or this . . . thing?" Gansley frowned.

"Well, Bendy, of course," Yugi said.

"Then I vote we stay," Gansley said. "It's not making any move to attack."

Yugi frowned, not convinced. "Maybe that's one of the other changes our Game Master made. . . ."

Gansley went and sat down in a chair. "For now, let's say it is."

Yugi bit his lip. Gansley was very likely wearing down after so much activity, not just in this game, but all the games they had been in during this nightmare. He wouldn't want to admit it, but he no doubt needed a break.

"We won't cause any trouble," Yugi said to the Projectionist. "Will you just let us stay here quietly until Bendy decides to leave us alone?"

The Projectionist beeped in a clearly unhappy manner, but still didn't make any move to attack.

"Thanks," Yugi smiled. He went over and sat next to Gansley. "Maybe the Projectionist will put on some old Bendy cartoons for us to watch."

"Will that help us get to the bottom of this madness?" Gansley asked.

"Probably not," Yugi sighed. "Especially since the one chasing us is not like the cartoon character in personality. . . ."

". . . What happens if we don't complete Alice's task of destroying all the Bendy cut-outs?" Gansley wondered.

"Then . . . she'll probably be mad," Yugi said.

"Unless she was trying to draw Bendy out to kill us," Gansley pointed out.

"Yeah. . . . I guess that's possible. . . . That's not supposed to be how the game goes, but who knows what new rules are in it now," Yugi moaned. He shifted. "And I really don't get the Projectonist's behavior. . . . I keep expecting it to flip out and start chasing us. . . ."

"Maybe it still will," Gansley said. He frowned. "Shall we see if there's another door we can slip out of?"

"I'm pretty sure there is," Yugi said. "Let's try over here." He got up and walked off to the side. "Yeah, there's a door here!"

Gansley got up, leaning heavily on his cane as he walked over to where Yugi was. The boy opened the door, revealing another eerie corridor. There was no Bendy in sight, much to both of their relief.

"Let's go then," Gansley said.

"Goodbye," Yugi called to the Projectionist.

Somehow that triggered the Projectionist's violent behavior. It let out an inhuman screech that chilled the humans' blood.

". . . That isn't good, is it," Gansley growled.

"No, it isn't," Yugi yelped. "Run for it!"

Gansley needed no convincing. He tore after Yugi, and the Projectionist tore after them. "What on Earth is its problem?!" he cried.

"I don't know!" Yugi called back. "But this is what it's supposed to do as soon as it sees anyone!"

"What happens if it catches us?!" Gansley demanded.

"Let's not find out!" Yugi practically flew over the old wooden floors and the cords and cables and whatever else was in his path. Normally he wasn't a fast runner at all, but compared to Gansley he was, and when fleeing for his life he ran much faster than he did under normal circumstances.

He wasn't expecting Bendy to suddenly appear from out of nowhere and hit him hard, sending him into the elevator. He gasped in pain as he rolled across the floor and hit the opposite side. Stars were swirling through his vision and he could barely hang on to consciousness. Groaning, he struggled to look up when he felt the elevator move under him. The Projectionist and Bendy were both coming in, forgetting about fighting each other in order to focus their attacks on Yugi.

"Aren't you forgetting about someone?" came Gansley's sudden voice.

They spun around. Gansley was standing in front of the elevator, leaning heavily on his cane.

Yugi tried to rise, but failed. "Gansley . . ." Gansley should have arrived ahead of the Projectionist. The fact that he hadn't meant that the Projectionist had already hurt him.

Guilt stabbed into Yugi's heart. He had been so focused on running fast that he had completely left Gansley behind. It was his fault Gansley was hurt. . . .

Both the Projectionist and Bendy seemed willing to forget about Yugi for the time being and focus on Gansley. As Yugi watched, his head throbbing and leaving him too hurt to move, Gansley knocked first one and then the other back time and again. They attacked him as well; the Projectionist swiped out viciously knocking him back into the wall. He lay dazed for a moment but then struggled to rise. Bendy immediately leaped on his back, tearing at his clothes and reaching to choke him. When he threw the devil across the hall, the Projectionist was on him again.

"Gansley, no. . . ." Yugi reached out in vain and then fought desperately to get up. That only made unconsciousness come on even faster. He fell back, sinking out of consciousness to the sound of Gansley screaming in pain and hitting the floor.

****

Duke felt a sense of triumph as he turned down another hallway and came upon the blocked-off area at last. "Yes! Here's where we break through!" he exclaimed.

Lector swung the axe, chopping through the boards and revealing their new path. "This doesn't look encouraging," he frowned. "There's a pentagram on the floor."

"Yeah," Duke sighed. "That nutcase who had the secret room in the recording studio put it there. For some reason, he thinks Bendy will save him and restore his humanity. He worships that devil like a god."

"Okay, now that's seriously one of the most disturbing things I've ever heard," Crump said with a shudder.

"And I don't see any stairs," Nesbitt said, coming from around Crump to look.

Johnson didn't look pleased. "Are you sure it's safe to go this way?" he asked Duke.

"Some of the game only happens if you go this way," Duke replied. "Or at least . . . that's how it works in the real game. Maybe this version is different."

"Well, we'll never know until we try," Serenity suddenly said. She came out from around Duke and marched through the doorway.

"Serenity . . . !" Duke stared after her and finally sighed. They had better not regret this.

More ink monsters were immediately there to assault them as they all stepped through the doorway into the new area. They beat the creatures back, looking high and low for any trace of the stairs.

"Don't step on the pentagram," Duke warned. "That might activate the sacrificial ritual."

"What kind of sacrificial ritual?!" Crump yelped.

"Sacrificing some or all of us to Bendy in the hopes of restoring his lost humanity," Duke said flatly.

"Don't worry! I'm not gonna step on the thing!" Crump exclaimed. He zipped around it as fast as he could go.

It was almost more agonizing when nothing came out than if something had. Everyone was tense, certain that any moment something or someone would jump out and assault them. But aside from the regular ink monsters, there was no one threatening to sacrifice them to Bendy. Instead, as they walked, a strange squeaking noise grew louder and louder.

"What's that?" Duke frowned after a while.

"It sounds mechanical," Nesbitt said.

Finally they turned a corner and found themselves looking at an old-fashioned freight elevator slowly moving up to their level. They stared, baffled.

"Hey, someone's in there!" Serenity cried.

"It's Yugi," Lector soon realized in alarm. "He's hurt!"

As soon as the elevator stopped, Lector pulled the door open and ran inside, going over to Yugi's lifeless body. He took the boy's hand, feeling for a pulse. Yugi stirred, jerking away from the touch. "No. . . . You can't take me too," he mumbled.

"Yugi, it's Lector," the Southerner told him. "You're safe."

That brought Yugi's eyes open. "Lector?!"

"And we're here too," Duke said from the doorway of the elevator.

"What happened?!" Serenity exclaimed.

Yugi started to push himself up. "We were attacked," he said. "I was hurt and Gansley was fighting them off. . . . Then they hurt him. . . ." He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Oh no," Lector said in alarm.

"Well, where the heck did this happen?!" Crump cried. "We've gotta go back for him!"

"I think they took him," Yugi said in despair. "But I don't know why they left me behind. . . ." He struggled up and limped to the elevator button panel. "I remember the level we were on. . . ."

Everyone climbed into the elevator and Yugi pressed the button to go down. He stopped it when he saw a familiar level.

"Nobody's there!" Crump exclaimed. "But there's ink everywhere!"

Duke frowned. "I don't get it. Why would they take him and not Yugi too?"

Yugi just stared helplessly at the empty space and burst into tears. "It's my fault," he sobbed. "He was trying to save me! I didn't see Bendy coming and he hit me and I wasn't able to help fight back. . . . And if I hadn't been hurt, maybe we could have got away before they caught up with us. . . ."

"Hey, Yugi, come on," Duke said. "It wasn't your fault."

Lector nodded. "You know Gansley would tell you that himself."

Yugi shook his head. "We have to find him," he said brokenly.

"We will," Lector insisted. "We won't leave here without him."

"Yugi!"

Everyone started and looked up. Apparently the other group had found the stairs off to the side, and they were rushing down and over to them, Atem and Téa in the lead.

"Yugi, what happened?!" Atem demanded.

Yugi told the story again, shakily, and then suddenly froze. ". . . Oh no. . . ." He stared at the elevator, his eyes filling with a realization he hadn't thought of before.

"Yugi, what is it?!" Téa gasped.

"This happens in the original game too," Yugi said. "Well, kind of. . . . After the protagonist Henry and the living cartoon character Boris the Wolf finish runnings errands for Alice, she pretends to let them go . . . and then drops the elevator to hurt Henry and take Boris to use him in one of her sick experiments."

A chill went down Lector's spine. "And what happened to Boris?"

"The next time Henry saw him, he'd been turned into some kind of a monster bent on fighting," Yugi whispered. "Henry couldn't get through to him and . . ." He said something practically indistinguishable.

"What?!" Crump yelped.

Atem held Yugi close. ". . . He said that Henry had no choice but to kill him."

****

Gansley groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He was aching all over, and he seemed to be lying on something hard and cold, which didn't help. He slowly raised a hand to his head. "What . . . happened?"

Alice was suddenly bending over him. "You were in trouble and I rescued you," she said smoothly. "I've been watching you, and I decided you're exactly what I need—someone to work for me full-time, helping me gather what I need to become perfect."

"That's preposterous," Gansley snorted. He started to sit up. "I'm grateful you rescued me, but I have to get back to the others."

Alice grabbed his head with both hands. "It wasn't a request. If you won't come willingly, I'll just have to force your hand." Her eyes glowed and pain channeled through her grip into Gansley's brain. He screamed, reaching up to claw at her wrists. She held fast, refusing to let go.

He continued to fight her in utter terror and desperation, but it was no use. He could feel his will slipping away; even his feelings were fading. He couldn't remember what it was to worry, to care . . . to love. . . .

At last she released him, stepping back with a cruel gleam in her eyes. "So, Mr. Gansley, how do you feel now?"

He looked up at her, his eyes glassy and emotionless. "I'm ready to serve you, Alice."

She sneered. "Perfect."


	6. Chapter 6

The mood was grim and depressed as everyone made their way through the studio. Ink monsters came at them and were cut down almost mechanically by the stunned and saddened group. Yugi blinked back tears, wielding his axe to try to help.

Bakura was furious. "Stop this now!" he cried, looking towards the ceiling. "Obviously Gansley and the rest of the Big Five didn't do anything to you, since you admitted they're not around much in your world! You had no reason to hurt any of them!"

"Perhaps not, but it certainly seems to have hurt little Yugi," the Game Master mocked. "Therefore, I would say it's been worth it."

"Yugi did what he had to in order to defeat you!" Bakura exclaimed. "And this Yugi isn't even the one you fought!"

"Well, anyway, I don't control everything that happens there," the Game Master said. "I didn't actually set out to have Gansley taken. The characters acted on their own."

"Seriously?!" Téa gasped. "You can't control them?!"

"Somehow that makes me feel worse, not better," Joey growled.

"Tell us where Gansley is, now!" Nesbitt roared.

"Oh, but that would spoil the surprise," the Game Master sneered. "You'll run across him again soon enough, but I doubt you'll like what you see."

Lector paled. "What Yugi said. . . . Is that what's happened? Will Gansley come back as some sort of monster?"

"And is that the way he'll be even if we get out of this?!" Crump said in horror.

Yami Bakura growled. "If this is a Shadow Game, nothing's real here."

"Yeah, but is it one?!" Crump burst out.

"It certainly has all the earmarks of one," Atem frowned.

"Come now, surely you appreciate this, Other Me," the Game Master taunted. "You did things like this as well."

"People don't tend to like looking in soul mirrors," Yami Bakura grunted. "You are me, but you are not me. And if you can't control the characters in your own game, don't you realize that Bakura is in danger as well? You seemed to not want harm to come to him."

Silence. Then, "Just play my game."

Nesbitt growled. "We won't get anywhere with him! And this place is so big, I don't know how we're going to find Gansley or anyone else!"

"We'll just have to keep walking," Lector said.

And walk they did, exploring the rest of the level and fighting off ink monsters. All the while, they were heading towards Alice's hide-out. Since she took Boris in the game, Yugi thought it worth trying to find Gansley by going to her. Even if she hadn't taken him, she might know something about who had.

As they drew closer to the area, the sounds of a fight became louder and more chilling. Several ink monsters shrieked. But when a deep voice started laughing, everyone exchanged stunned looks and ran ahead.

"Gansley?!" Yugi called.

Gansley turned, slinging his cane over his shoulder as he looked to the approaching group. "Well, what are all of you doing here?" he asked. At his feet were several containers filled with what looked like ink. Whatever monsters had been there were gone.

"We've been trying to find you!" Lector exclaimed in disbelief.

"We thought you'd been hurt," Nesbitt added.

"Oh, I'm just fine." Gansley gestured to the ink monsters. "I'm just sending these things on to Alice Angel for whatever purposes she wants them for."

Yugi stopped short. "Why?" he gasped.

"Because that's what she wants of me, of course," Gansley shrugged.

"You were running errands for her," Atem mused. "So you still are?"

"I suppose you could say that," Gansley said, "but the full truth is that I'm her right-hand man now."

"No," Lector gasped. He drew closer. Now he could see that Gansley's eyes were blank. The older man was looking at him without emotion. There was no love, no concern. There was barely recognition, and what there was, was cold and hard.

"It's my fault," Yugi whispered in horror. "She's brainwashed him. . . . He still looks the same on the outside, but his mind's been completely twisted."

"No," Atem insisted. "He can still be saved from this. There has to be a way!"

"What about us?!" Crump burst out. "Are you saying you're just gonna forget about us?!"

"Let Lector lead you," Gansley shrugged. "I have other matters to concern myself with."

Nesbitt snapped and ran forward, grabbing Gansley by his suitcoat lapels. "What are you talking about?!" he boomed. "You don't want to work for that thing! You know you wanted to stay with us!"

Gansley brushed him aside and turned to go. "That's in the past. Go away, all of you. I have work to do." He gathered the ink containers and walked up to the doors. They opened and admitted him and swiftly closed again.

Yugi just stared after him. "What are we going to do?!" he said in horror.

"Let's get away from here to talk about it," Lector said. "She might be able to hear us."

"She might hear us no matter where we are," Yugi said blankly.

Nesbitt snarled. "We can't just leave him with her!" He gestured wildly at the door. "He doesn't know what he's saying or doing!"

"And just what do you propose?" Yami Bakura grunted. "Dragging him away kicking and screaming will hardly work."

Nesbitt clenched a fist. "I know what it's like to be brainwashed and mind-controlled. I want to go undercover and pretend to join Alice so I can be near Gansley. Maybe I can get through to him that way."

Lector stared at him. "Do you have any concept of how dangerous that would be?!"

"We have to do something!" Nesbitt snapped.

"Of course we do!" Lector shot back. "I just don't know if that's the right thing to do! We've already lost one of us. I hardly want to sanction something that could cause another of us to be hurt as well!"

Nesbitt's eyes hardened. "I don't need your permission. Get out of my way." He stormed forward, reaching to shove Lector to the side.

"Mr. Nesbitt!" Serenity ran over, much to everyone's shock. "We're all worried about Mr. Gansley. All of us are too. But please don't lose yourself in your worry so much that you hurt someone else dear to you. You'll always regret it."

"Serenity!" Duke hissed.

Nesbitt just stared at her for a long moment. Then he looked away but lowered his hand. ". . . I don't need your permission," he repeated to Lector, "and I'll go without it. But I'd rather we didn't have to part on unpleasant terms."

"There is very little I can say or do if you are that determined that your way is the right way," Lector said. "I don't want to lose you, Nesbitt. Don't you realize that she might just brainwash you too?!"

"It's already been done to me once," Nesbitt retorted. "I know what it's like, so I won't let it happen again."

"It's nice to know how much you value my position as the temporary leader," Lector said, his voice dripping sarcasm. Crump, standing close to him, could see the hurt flickering in his eyes.

"I didn't say I didn't value it. I just don't agree with you on this," Nesbitt said.

"So what else is new?" Crump grunted.

Lector folded his arms. "Why don't we settle this the way we always used to, with a group vote?" He gave Nesbitt a firm look. "You always used to abide by those, even if you didn't like them."

Nesbitt growled. "You'll all just vote against me. And what other ideas can you come up with?"

"We could continually seek Gansley out on his quests," Johnson suggested. "Perhaps repeated contact with us would get through to him."

"And how much better would it be for someone to have constant contact with him?" Nesbitt countered. "I could be right there, every moment! Surely you can't deny how effective that could be!" He looked from Johnson to Lector. "Trying to repeatedly corner Gansley could be dangerous too. I don't think Alice would like it. What's more, it would put the entire group in danger! My way, it only puts me in danger! Think about it! What's more logical?"

Lector gripped his arms. He didn't want to admit it, but Nesbitt did have a point. Still, he didn't want to put any of the others in danger, even just one person. Especially when that one person was someone so dear to him.

"Nesbitt, I don't want to make this decision," he said at last.

"Well, nevermind then," Nesbitt grunted. "I've already made it for you." He started to step away. "I'm going to do it."

Crump and Johnson looked helpless. They didn't want him to do it, but they also couldn't think of any better ways to try to get Gansley back with them.

Lector turned away. "Then there is nothing else I can say. Just don't be a fool!"

"I won't." Nesbitt ran up to the doors and knocked.

"What is it?" came Alice's bored voice.

"I want to join you," Nesbitt said.

"Why?" Alice retorted. "I know you're Mr. Gansley's friend. I doubt you're happy about the path he's chosen."

"I want to join you so I can be with him," Nesbitt said. "You can know I'll be completely loyal to you, because I won't want to do anything that might hurt him."

"Hmm. Well, I suppose that's the kind of motivation people like to think they'll keep to," Alice mused. "Personally, I doubt if you will; sooner or later you'll be more interested in yourself. But come in. I do need help." The doors opened.

Nesbitt walked in without looking back.

Lector turned and stared after him, shaken. "He is a fool," he said as the doors clanged shut. "I've lost two of my best friends. And now I can't even say if we'll ever get them back."

Crump gripped his shoulder. "Of course we will," he objected.

"We have to," Johnson added.

Mokuba looked up sadly at Lector. "I'm so sorry, Lector . . . guys. . . ."

"It's hardly your fault, Mokuba." Lector pulled him close with one arm. "I pray they'll be alright."

Joey looked away uncomfortably and was quickly distracted by a strange poster on the wall advertising a cartoon called The Butcher Gang. "This looks weird," he frowned.

"Everything in this game is weird and you're focusing on a poster?" Tristan retorted.

"I wouldn't stand too close to that poster, guys," Yugi said worriedly.

"Why, Yug?" Joey asked.

Téa shrieked. "That's why!"

The boys jumped a mile. The characters were coming out of the poster and standing before the group. But unlike in the poster, they appeared mutilated and disfigured.

"What are these things?!" Mai exclaimed.

"The Butcher Gang," Yugi whispered in horror.

"Well, that's a real cheery name for them," Joey scowled. "I guess they're more enemies for us?"

"Oh yeah." Duke narrowed his eyes. "It looks like they want to fight."

Yami Bakura stepped out in front. "Then fight we shall." He blasted the first one, a strange humanoid creature with its mouth opened in a constant, silent scream. It fell back, ink splattering everywhere.

"Hey, they're just ink, like the puddle monsters," Joey blinked.

"They're cartoon characters," Duke pointed out, "so that's logical, isn't it?"

". . . Yeah," Joey scowled.

David heaved a chair at a bizarre and nondescript creature with a fishing pole for a neck and its head hanging from the hook. "Please tell me this is a nightmare and we're all going to wake up from it," he moaned as ink went in all directions.

"This is the kind of nightmare that's real!" Crump yelped. He kicked the third one, another indescribable being with its lips eerily sewn together.

". . . Well, that's a wrap, right?" Tristan hoped. "That was all of them. . . ."

"No!" Serenity screamed and pointed. "Look! There's more of them!"

Everyone followed her gaze and stared in horror. Indeed, more copies of the Butcher Gang were lumbering towards them. As ink dripped from the ceiling, some of it formed into even more copies from other directions.

"We're surrounded!" Bakura exclaimed.

Mai kicked the nearest one to her. "Then we'll just have to keep beating them back until we've got them all!" she cried.

"Easier said than done!" Téa wailed.

The battle was long, vicious. Every time they thought the battle was through, more Butcher Gangs appeared. By the time no more were spawning at long last, the group was exhausted and badly shaken.

"This sure isn't any Mario game," Tristan said, holding a hand to his forehead.

"That other me knew what he was doing by sending us into innocuous games first," Yami Bakura growled. He petted Oreo, who was currently settled in his arms with big round eyes and still seemed terrified by the Butcher Gang battle.

"No kidding," Duke said. "It makes this place even more of a shock."

Mokuba trembled and moved closer to Seto. "I hate this place," he whispered.

Seto brought a firm and comforting arm around his brother. He hated it too. "We'll get out of here," he vowed.

"But when?" Mokuba moaned.

No one knew the answer to that.

"I am gonna have so many nightmares about those things," Joey groaned as he sank back against a barrel laying on its side. "Especially the one with a fishing pole for a neck. . . ."

"Alice was the one who did that to them," Yugi shuddered.

Crump turned to look at him with a start. "And she's got both Gansley and Nesbitt?! What'll she do if she gets mad at them?!"

"I don't think she'd do that," Yugi said. "It's the ink monsters and the cartoon characters she's interested in hurting. But . . ." He looked away. "She doesn't have to cause physical harm to hurt people. . . ."

Lector passed a hand over his eyes. "I should have tried harder to stop Nesbitt," he lamented. "I shouldn't have let him do this. . . ."

"Hey, you know how he gets," Crump said. "You couldn't have stopped him."

"Gansley probably could have, just by talking him down," Lector said bitterly. "Who am I fooling? I'm not leader material. And even though Nesbitt was the one who told me I'd have to take up that mantle, he doesn't respect me as a leader."

"He goes against Gansley too, if he wants to do something bad enough," Crump insisted. "Nesbitt's really lone wolf material; he's not good at sticking to group decisions."

"But in spite of that, he loves us and wants to be with us," Johnson quietly pointed out. "That's why he was so desperate to do this—he wants to save Gansley and bring him back to us."

"But at what cost?" Lector retorted. "I don't want to lose him either. . . ."

No one really had a satisfactory answer for that. After they gathered their strength, all they could really do was get up and trudge away. They couldn't just constantly linger near Alice's hide-away.

"We still need to find your grandfather, Yugi," Atem reminded him. "Maybe we should focus on that."

"I haven't seen any more bandanna symbols," Yugi said. "And Gansley pointed out that we don't even really know he's the one who's been putting them up. It could be a trick."

"We don't know that, Yugi," Téa protested. "Let's look. It'll give us something to put our minds to."

"Yeah, and who knows, maybe Nesbitt really will get Gansley back to us," Joey said.

Yugi finally sighed and nodded. "You're right, guys. We should look. I'd never forgive myself if Grampa really is here and he gets hurt because I stopped believing it."

Atem laid a hand on Yugi's shoulder as they walked off.

****

Nesbitt was tense as he walked around Alice's lab, following Gansley as he inspected the corpses of various cartoon characters stretched out on slabs. On the shelves were bottle after bottle of ink, most likely harvested from the ink monsters. Alice was nowhere to be seen, but Nesbitt wouldn't be surprised if she was always watching, always listening. Still, he had to keep trying to get Gansley to listen to reason.

"I'm still surprised you decided to join me here," Gansley remarked. "I'm sure Lector wasn't pleased, was he?"

"No," Nesbitt said slowly, "but only because he was afraid I was going to get hurt. He wants to get you back as much as I do."

"It's not going to work," Gansley insisted. "I've moved on, Nesbitt. I don't want to be with any of you anymore."

"That's just the kind of thing I kept saying when that thing was mind-controlling me," Nesbitt protested. "You knew I didn't mean it."

"This isn't mind-control," Gansley insisted. "I've woke up." He gestured at the lab. "This is my true calling."

Nesbitt stared at Gansley in disbelief. "Do you even realize what you're doing?" he exclaimed. "You're working with some lunatic who wants to kill living cartoon characters to improve herself! There's no way something like that would even work. It's ludicrous!"

Gansley laughed. "Do you think I care about that? There has to be more going on here than that. I'm looking for whatever here might bring power and wealth."

Nesbitt just stared at him, slowly shaking his head. "You're insane," he gasped.

"And you're a fool, Nesbitt," Gansley taunted. "Don't you realize I could expose your duplicity at any time? Obviously you only joined so you could try to get through to me."

Nesbitt clenched a fist. "If you expose me, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. I will never stop being haunted over having struck Lector down while I was being mind-controlled."

Gansley just sneered, looking like he was about to make a smart remark. But his eyes flickered and he turned away with a grimace, holding a hand to his forehead.

"You know I'm right," Nesbitt pressed.

"Shut up, Nesbitt," Gansley growled.

That wasn't in-character for Gansley. But neither was anything else he had been saying. Nesbitt took it as encouraging, actually; Gansley was clearly starting to struggle within himself and be awakened to a knowledge that something wasn't right, even if he wasn't willing to admit it.

"You know you love us," Nesbitt pressed. "We're your family. And even before you felt that deeply about us, you still believed in being loyal to the team. You were always a ruthless businessman, but you never treated us like all those employees you presided over or fired at will."

"That's over," Gansley said through gritted teeth.

"It will never be over!" Nesbitt insisted. "You would never just stop caring about us! Not unless someone else was forcing their will on you!"

"What's going on here?" Alice hissed as she suddenly appeared.

"Nothing," Gansley grunted. "I have a headache."

And Nesbitt was further encouraged.

Alice's next words, however, sent a horrible jolt through his heart. "What do you think we should do about all those people roaming through the studio?"

"What do you mean, what should we do about them?!" Nesbitt exclaimed. "Some of those people are our friends, and they're all our allies in any case! And they're hardly causing you any trouble. Can't you just leave them be?"

"I don't know," Alice frowned. "They obviously don't want anything to do with me and they don't want you two working for me, so they may prove to be obstacles in my quest for perfection somewhere down the line."

Gansley grunted. "All they want is to find the way out."

"They won't leave without the two of you," Alice said. "Not if they're still stuck on this ridiculous ‘friendship' mode." She sneered. "Not to mention, I know Mr. Nesbitt here isn't really loyal to me. I'm thinking about putting both of you through a test."

Nesbitt's stomach dropped. "What kind of a test?"

Alice's twisted lips parted in a cruel smirk. "Such as . . . killing them?"

Nesbitt could feel the color draining from his face. Lector had been right; he shouldn't have got himself into this.

Gansley just grunted. "I don't see any purpose in it."

". . . I still care about those people too!" Nesbitt exclaimed, finally finding his voice. "Just because I wanted to be here with Gansley doesn't mean I'm willing to get rid of everyone else!"

"Hmph." Alice glowered at them both. "If I leave them alone right now, you'll have to pledge to kill them later if they get in our way."

Nesbitt couldn't even think how to answer. His mind had gone blank.

"Fine," Gansley said flippantly. "Just give us our next assignment."

"Collect the thick ink from certain disgusting ink monsters and bring it back to me," Alice said. "Take those syringes to collect it."

Nesbitt took one, his hand trembling. Gansley grabbed the other, seemingly unaffected. He headed out of the lab and through the doors.

Nesbitt chased after him. "Gansley, what's the matter with you?!" he cried. "I thought we were getting somewhere, but you just agreed to kill everyone!"

"I only agreed to appease her," Gansley said under his breath. "Especially since you couldn't keep up the facade. Surely you see the logic in that."

Nesbitt sighed, his shoulders slumping as he ran a hand through his hair. "I should have realized," he lamented. "You managed to fool me. I haven't done anything right. What was I thinking in trying to do this?!"

"You broke through to me," Gansley said quietly. "I can't keep hold of myself all the time, but you made a crack. I'm going to keep fighting, and I'm only aware that I need to fight because of you. Thank you."

Nesbitt slowly nodded.

Gansley's expression blanked and darkened in the next moment. "Now, let's go find us those ink monsters." He sneered in a highly unsettling way, and Nesbitt was chilled.

He could only pray that when the time came, Gansley would be able to break the control before he hurt someone he loved, instead of only being shocked back to his senses because of something he'd done to one of them.


	7. Chapter 7

The group was still badly shaken after their endless battle with the Butcher Gang. They were tense, half-certain that any moment more of the demented creatures would emerge from somewhere in the room. Mokuba, despite not wanting at all to admit how disturbed he was, was staying very close to Seto and Marik.

"Hey!" Yugi suddenly exclaimed. "There's another bandanna symbol over here!" He went over to a wooden support beam. "I wonder what Grampa wanted us to see here. . . . If he really planted it, of course. . . ."

"Uh, Yugi? . . ." Tristan looked around worriedly. "Something's coming out that looks a lot like that Bendy character. . . ."

"What?!" Yugi looked around the beam in alarm. Indeed, something resembling the cartoon character was coming out of a poster, just like with the Butcher Gang. But as everyone watched, horrified, it changed shape—growing until it was taller than most of the group, while its expression became downright demonic. It leered at them all with a huge and menacing toothy grin and started to advance.

"Now it looks like the horrible monster that chases you for most of the game!" Yugi cried. "Run and hide! If it catches you, it's Game Over!"

"And just what does Game Over mean here?!" Joey exclaimed as he grabbed Serenity's hand and turned to flee.

"I don't recommend staying to find out!" Yami Bakura growled.

Everyone scattered as the enormous Bendy lumbered in one direction and then another, seeking prey. They each found a hiding place and stayed there, very still, afraid to even breathe for fear that the demon would hear. It roamed about and sometimes went still, searching, listening, looking. . . .

Serenity held a hand over her nose and mouth when it drew too close to where she, Joey, Duke, and David were hiding behind a painted metal partition. It stood practically over them, so near that they could reach out and touch its inky legs. Then it moved on, seeking the next hiding place.

David didn't relax. It could find any of the others; there was no way to relax until the creature had left their area. They all tensely watched and waited until they could no longer see the beast. Then they slowly emerged.

"What if it finds some of the others?!" Serenity worried.

"We'll just to pray it doesn't," Duke growled.

"And try to make sure of it!" Joey cried, running forward to find where it had gone.

"Joey, wait!" Serenity wailed in alarm. She and the others had no choice but to chase after him.

"You can't fight it!" Duke called after him. "It's not like the other ink monsters!"

"Well, it should be," Joey snarled. Still, he ground to a halt and let the others catch up to him.

"What's more, it may not even be able to be defeated the same way as in the game," Duke continued. "The Game Master said things would be different here."

"So how do you defeat it in the game?" David wondered.

"You show it a film reel of a cartoon called The End," Duke said. "It's part of the symbolic ending, so it probably will be changed for our adventure."

"Oh, well, that's just great!" Joey snarled.

"Joey! Guys!"

They looked up with a start as Téa came out, along with Seto and Mokuba and the Ishtars.

"I'm glad all of you are alright," Marik said in relief. "We were all worried."

"Even Seto," Mokuba volunteered. "Of course, he probably won't admit it."

"What about everyone else?" Seto brusquely interrupted.

"We don't know," Duke said, frustrated. He grabbed a piece of hair, twirling it around his finger. "We haven't seen anyone else. And we don't know where that thing's gone."

"How about we focus on the plot of the game?" Seto said. "What comes next?"

"Well, after Boris the Wolf is captured by Alice Angel, the next part of the game is mostly Henry trying to get to him," Duke said. "A lot of it takes place in a warehouse that houses a failed attempt at a Bendy amusement park."

"That sure doesn't sound like a place I'd ever spend my money to visit," Joey grunted.

"Maybe we should find that warehouse, though," Marik said. "The rest of the gang might be going there now, especially if Yugi's with them to tell them about that part of the game."

"No way," Téa frowned. "First they'd come looking for us."

"Unless they couldn't," Marik countered. "Maybe Bendy is driving them towards the warehouse."

"That's really possible," Mokuba worried. "We got separated from them when we were all trying to find places to hide from Bendy."

"Okay," Duke said. "I'll try to lead you to that warehouse."

They started down the hallway with Duke in the lead. Before long they started passing what looked like ink monsters, but instead of attacking, they simply stood there, watching the group walk by.

"Is it just me, or is it creepier when they're not attacking?!" Joey whimpered.

"These are some of the Lost Ones," Duke explained. "The ones who definitely were human once. They just want to be human again; they don't have any desire to hurt the protagonist in the game."

"Let's just hope they feel the same here," Téa moaned.

Indeed, none of the ink creatures made a move to attack. But they continued to stare, whispering low among themselves. Joey finally tore past them, unable to stand it.  
"I really can't blame him," David said, although he didn't follow suit in fleeing.

"So how do we get to the warehouse from here?" Seto asked. "It can't be the same building."

"No, but there's a secret passage that connects them underground," Duke said. "That's where we're going now, to the Archive room where the passage is."

Joey looked back and blinked. "That's handy."

The rest of the way to the Archives was quiet, but no one felt like relaxing. After everything that had been happening, it was clear that any peace was only a calm before the storm. The mood brightened considerably, however, when they reached the Archives and found the rest of the group there.

"Yugi! Atem!" Téa exclaimed. "Tristan! Bakura! Everyone else . . . you're all safe!"

"Just barely," Tristan said. "Man, that Bendy thing is demonic! It chased us almost all the way down here. When Yugi realized where we were, he figured we'd better keep going."

"But I was hoping the rest of you guys would catch up," Yugi said. "I planned that we'd just wait here for you, if we could."

"What's the purpose of going to this warehouse place anyway, though?" Crump wondered. "I mean, if we're following the plot of the game, does that mean Alice is gonna torture us by having Gansley come at us and try to fight us?!"

"I don't know," Yugi admitted sorrowfully. "Maybe if Nesbitt can get through to him first, it won't happen."

"Or maybe they'll both be sent against us," Lector feared. "There's no reason why she couldn't try to brainwash Nesbitt too. And just because he thinks he can resist it, maybe he won't be able to."

"That is certainly my feeling as well," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Let's try to have hope, guys," Yugi pleaded. "I know none of us can stand thinking we won't get our friends back." He looked to a shelf of books. "We'd better hurry. Bendy could catch up at any time."

"Do the honors, Yug," Joey said.

Yugi pulled out five volumes of books, one at a time. As he moved the final one, the room began to shake.

"What's happening?!" Téa screamed, grabbing the wall.

"It's normal!" Yugi insisted. "It'll be over in a minute!"  
And it was. When everyone recovered their senses enough, they found the passageway standing open.

"All that shaking just to open the wall?" Tristan frowned.

"Let's just go in," Mai said, brushing past him.

Everyone else agreed, and Yugi and Duke led them all into the darkness.

****

Nesbitt was still extremely tense as Gansley led him through the bowels of the studio and into another secret passageway. "What is this place?" he frowned. "And how did you know this was here?"

"Alice imparted some of her knowledge of the layout of the studio when she forced her will upon me," Gansley said matter-of-factly. At the moment, again under Alice's command, he didn't seem to care that he wasn't operating under his own willpower. "As for what it is, it's going to take us to a place where we can collect this thick ink she likes."

"This is just ridiculous," Nesbitt growled. "You'd think so too if you really knew what you were saying."

"Heh," Gansley sneered.

They stepped out at a strange place with a large vat of ink. As they watched, an ink monster was created from the dripping ink, then another. And then to Nesbitt's amazement, everyone else entered the same area from another doorway.

"Gansley!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Nesbitt!" Lector ran out from around Yugi and Duke. "What are you doing here?!"

"We're collecting this thick ink for Alice," Gansley smirked at him.

"Unfortunately, we need that ink to repair a bridge," Atem frowned.

"Well, you're not going to get it," Gansley snapped.

"This doesn't happen in the game!" Duke exclaimed. "But if somebody doesn't get the ink, those things will teleport out and we'll have to find them again!"

"Which we are not going to do." Gansley aimed his syringe at one of them and captured the ink.

Nesbitt did likewise, but suddenly turned and threw the syringe at Lector. "Take it!" he yelled.

Lector needed no prodding. He grabbed it, looking to his friend in equal parts gratitude and worry. "What will you take to Alice?!"

"I'll say you got it away from me," Nesbitt said. "Gansley will back me up."

"Oh, will I?" Gansley turned to face Nesbitt, his eyes flashing. "What if I don't? What if I tell Alice the truth, that you betrayed her and gave the thick ink to our enemies?"

"You're not going to do that," Nesbitt insisted. "You didn't betray me to Alice when you had the perfect chance. You said you had a headache instead."

"Well, maybe this time I don't feel like lying to her." Gansley started to raise his cane to strike Nesbitt down. Horrified, the rest of the Big Five moved to lunge and stop him.

Nesbitt just held his ground. "You're not going to do it."

"For Heaven's sake, Nesbitt, get out of the way!" Lector cried. "You know you weren't able to stop yourself from hurting me while under Yami Marik's control! There's no guarantee Gansley won't hurt you now!"

"There certainly isn't." Gansley swung out with his cane and it connected with Lector's right shoulder. Lector hissed in pain and gripped at the spot, but from his eyes, the fact that Gansley had done it hurt more than the act itself.

Immediately Gansley whirled, again trying to hit Nesbitt. Realizing he had to defend himself, Nesbitt grabbed the other end of the cane. "I'm not going to let you do this," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Gansley, please stop!" Yugi begged. "You used your cane to try to save me! Don't you remember?! You don't want to use it on your friends!"

"Of course I do!" Gansley shot back. But his hand trembled and he fell back, holding his other hand to his forehead with a grimace.

Nesbitt started to pull the cane away from him, but abruptly stopped when a terrifying hissing noise met his ears. "It's Bendy," he gasped. "He's found us. . . ."

Lector fell back. "Lord help us."

Bendy suddenly leaped out of the darkness, swiping at Crump. Horrified, Crump screamed and stumbled back into the darkness.

"Everyone, run!" Atem yelled. "Bendy can't be fought! We all know this!"

"Try to reach the Ink Maker and create the gear to fix the bridge!" Yugi called to Lector, who still had the syringe. "We'll try to meet you there!"

"Right." Lector fled back the way they had come while Bendy was distractedly chasing some of the others into the darkness. Lector hated to leave them, but he also knew they were trying to give him the opening he needed to fix the bridge. That step had to be accomplished or they couldn't advance into this nightmare and be closer to the end.

He ran up to the Ink Maker and squirted the thick ink inside. The invention was bizarre—something that could turn ink into other substances and various objects. But as far as everything else went, it was the least odd thing about this place. And Lector couldn't deny it was useful.

"So," Alice's voice rumbled from everywhere and nowhere all at once, "you have stolen my ink."

"I'm sorry, but we need it," Lector told her. "Although I'm actually not sorry. Not after what you did to Gansley." He took the newly created gear out of the Ink Maker.

Alice screamed in rage. "I needed that ink!" she shrieked, her voice barely discernable through her madness. "I need it to be perfect!"

"Even if you manage to physically repair your body, you'll never be perfect as long as you manipulate and torment us," Lector shot back.

"And you'll never live to deliver that gear to the bridge!" Alice countered.

Lector stared in horror as more of Alice's mutilated creatures emerged from the shadows. They were all lunging right for him. He swiped at them desperately with his axe, which worked for a while. But when one of them managed to reach out and snap the handle in two with its hands made of giant pliers, all he could do was turn and run towards the bridge.

Of course the creatures chased him. And with their ability to melt into the shadows and leap out again, they managed to surround him before he could make it to the bridge. He kicked one away in desperation, but that wasn't going to work on all of them. There were too many, and these monsters had been modified with various tools for limbs. Every one was a deadly weapon.

Suddenly a cane came out of the shadows, striking one of them away from Lector. "No!"

Lector looked over with a disbelieving start. "Gansley!" he cried. "What are you doing?!"

Gansley hit a second one. "Whatever I can. I said I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you or any of the others because of me. I meant it." His eyes were clear, unlike before. He was free of Alice's control again. For how long, Lector didn't know, but he was grateful for this moment.

The final one knocked the cane from Gansley's hand, sending it spinning across the floor. With its other arm of three drill spikes, it pierced him through the stomach before either he or Lector could do anything. He gasped, his eyes widening in pain as the weapon exited through his back before withdrawing completely, his blood dripping from the metal to the floor.

Lector was frozen, staring, unable to believe what had just happened. But when Gansley crumpled to the floor on his side, he snapped to. _"GANSLEY!"_

Quickly he grabbed Gansley's cane, swinging it at the creature and splattering it. Then he knelt down, shaking. He knew there was nothing he could do, and yet, he couldn't just do nothing. This was an unbelievable nightmare. He laid a hand on Gansley's shoulder.

Gansley was breathing heavily. The pain was excruciating and he was already starting to fade. He rose as much as he could, turning his head to look toward Lector. "Forgive me," he whispered. "I betrayed you, and now this was the only thing I could do to save you. I've been put out of business for good. Please tell Nesbitt how sorry I am for how I treated him. . . ."

"Of course I will," Lector said shakily. "But he knows better than anyone that you didn't mean it."

"And Crump and Johnson. . . ."

"They know," Lector said. "We all know."

"I . . . don't want to leave you . . . any of you. . . . But clearly I don't have a choice."

Lector couldn't deny that. There was no way anyone could survive an attack as brutal as this.

Gansley sighed, heavily, and coughed on the blood rising in his throat. ". . . You have been a better leader than I have been. . . ."

"No!" Lector cried. "No, that isn't true. You couldn't help what happened. You were trying to protect Yugi when you were taken. Now . . . now you were trying to protect me. . . ." He moved his arm protectively around the front of Gansley's shoulders. "My dear friend . . . my leader. . . ."

Gansley gave one weak smile before his eyes closed and he fell limp.

Lector knelt perfectly still, knowing what had just happened but not wanting to believe it. Then the weight of it crashed down on him and he screamed, lifting Gansley's upper body into his arms and cradling him close as he trembled. There was no breath, no heartbeat. And this time, unlike what had happened in New Orleans, there was no injected drug making Gansley look dead as it had for Lector. The blood going everywhere from the three fatal wounds attested to that. This was real.

_Dead. . . . He died for me. He's gone. . . ._

"Oh my gosh, what happened?!" Téa shrieked. She ran over with some of the others. "We got away from Bendy, but . . ."

"The mind-control spell's broken," Lector said blankly. "But Gansley's dead." He laid the older man back on the floor, shaking.

"No," Yugi whispered in heartbroken shock.

"No!" Crump screamed. "No, he can't be!"

Horror and outrage filled Bakura's face. "This is unacceptable!" he cried. "It's bad enough to trap us here at all. But to allow this to happen?!"

"You knew that other me was intending on all of us dying, except perhaps you," Yami Bakura countered.

"Yes, but . . ." Bakura stared helplessly at the Big Five. "I thought we could stop it from happening. . . ."

"We should have been able to stop it!" Yugi spat in sudden anger. "I should have been able to stop it. . . ."

Lector passed a hand over his face. "I couldn't do anything. . . ."

Nesbitt ran over, going sheet-white at the scene. "Oh no. . . ." His knees weakened and he dropped to the floor. "I thought Gansley was running with me at first. . . . Then I realized he'd slipped away. . . ."

"He broke through the spell when Alice sent some of her minions to kill me," Lector told him. "He died to save me." He looked to Nesbitt. "He wanted me to be sure to tell you how sorry he was for how he treated you. . . ."

Nesbitt trembled and wouldn't meet his gaze. "He was stronger than I was," he whispered. "He broke through the control. He didn't hurt anyone, like I did. . . ." He clenched both fists.

"Nesbitt. . . ." Lector reached for him, shaking, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Gansley said hurtful things too. . . . He even started to strike out at us with his cane. . . ."

"But seeing you in real trouble shattered Alice's hold over him," Nesbitt said. "Now he's gone. . . ."

"It all happened so fast," Lector said blankly. "Then it was done and I was just standing there, watching. . . ."

"Gansley . . ." Johnson reached them and fell to his knees as well. "My oldest friend. . . ."

Crump touched Gansley's hand, feeling in vain for life. "He's really left us. . . ."

"He didn't want to," Lector said. "You know he didn't want to."

Johnson's hands shook. "I always thought he'd die peacefully in his sleep. . . . Or maybe cruelly, from a heart attack. . . . But I . . . I never thought it would be anything like this! . . ."

"He was in so much pain," Crump said, "and yet . . . he looks like he was kind of at peace when he . . . left. . . ."

"He knew I forgave him," Lector said quietly. "And I still saw him as our leader. Always. . . ."

Crump gripped Gansley's hand, chilled by the stillness of death while it was yet warm from life being there so shortly ago. "What are we gonna do?" he whispered.

"I don't know," Atem said grimly, "but I'm afraid we're going to have to leave him here, at least for now."

"WHAT?!" Crump yelled in indignation.

"You know we can't easily carry him out of here," Atem explained. "It would take several to do it, and even if we managed it, it would slow us down too much when there are enemies on every side."

Lector shut his eyes tightly. "And Gansley would never want that."

Mokuba's eyes filled with tears. "Lector . . . I'm so sorry. . . ." He came and hugged him.

Lector drew Mokuba close. "If this is a Shadow Game, like he figured, do you suppose there's any chance that he might be restored if we beat it?" It was a slim chance, he knew, and it probably really wasn't true, but he had to cling to something, anything, to try to keep hold of his sanity. He understood so well how everyone had reacted when they had thought he was dead. . . .

"There has to be," Mokuba said. "A death here can't be real. . . ."

"I think it's at least a possibility," Atem said gently. "But even if it isn't, we have to leave. Bendy will be catching up to us at any time."

The Big Four exchanged stricken glances. While they knew Atem was right, it was difficult to think of leaving when there was no guarantee that Gansley could be revived. Nor was there any guarantee that they would be able to come back for his body. This might be the only time they would even have to say Goodbye with his body there. And they couldn't even linger as they would like; Bendy and other enemies were everywhere. They had to leave right away.

"Thank you, for everything you did," Yugi said softly. "You tried to protect me, and that led to this when Alice took you. I'm so sorry. . . ." He turned away in tears. Atem drew him close.

"Goodbye, old friend," Johnson whispered.

"We'll see you again someday," Crump hoped. "But it won't ever be soon enough."

Nesbitt trembled. He didn't want to speak with the others there, but there was no way to have a private moment. "I'm sorry I couldn't really help you," he choked out. "I wanted to so badly. . . . You always helped us. . . ."

"You did help him, Nesbitt," Lector insisted, although he knew Nesbitt wasn't likely to want to talk about it right then.

Indeed, Nesbitt just looked away.

Lector sighed. He would have to talk more to Nesbitt later, although he doubted anything he said would help. He knew that no words were really easing his own grief and pain. How could he possibly hope to soothe Nesbitt's?

He hesitated, then gently laid the cane on the floor and placed Gansley's limp hand on it. "You'll always be our leader," he said quietly.

They stood, heartbroken, and had no choice but to run away with the rest of the group. When ink monsters started to rise up along the path and attack them, Nesbitt grabbed a fallen wooden beam and slammed it into the nearest one, his eyes filled with rage and sorrow.

It was some time after they left when another figure emerged from the shadows, swinging an axe at an ink monster before spotting Gansley's lifeless body. "Oh no," he said to the room. "What happened here?"

He knelt down, checking for signs of life and then taking in the sight of the carefully placed cane. "The others were here. . . . You may have even protected one or more of them, didn't you? I know you protected my grandson earlier." He laid a hand on Gansley's shoulder and got to his feet. "I am sorry you have fallen. But thank you, for all that you did to help us. . . ."

He hurried ahead, following the path the others had taken.


	8. Chapter 8

Yugi was still blinking back tears as he ran with the rest of the group over the bridge and into the warehouse, beating back ink monsters wherever they appeared. He couldn't get the image of Gansley laying dead in a pool of blood out of his mind.

"I called him a feeble old man once," he said to Atem. "I know he was our enemy then, and I had every right to be angry at what he wanted to do, but now I keep remembering how he tried to protect me in the elevator. . . . He was beating Bendy and the Projectionist back with his cane, over and over . . . and that was what I saw as I passed out. . . . And then I woke up and he was gone. . . ." The tears slipped free. "Alice had him brainwashed. . . . But he wasn't feeble at all. . . . He was strong. . . . He fought to save me, and he didn't stay brainwashed, like Boris did. He loved his friends too much for that."

Atem laid a hand on his shoulder. "We all owe a great deal to Gansley for his sacrifices, both in protecting you and giving his life for Lector. I pray we can still save him, but I don't know."

"And the others will never get over it. . . ." Yugi reached to brush away the tears. "I know firsthand that you don't get over something like that, no matter how much time goes by. There's always a hole." He looked to where Nesbitt was attacking ink monsters in a rage.

Atem frowned deeply as he followed Yugi's gaze. "And for one who has always behaved impulsively and recklessly, there is a great danger in unleashing his grief during a stressful situation."

Nesbitt was screaming mindlessly now, pounding the ink monster into the floor. Even when it returned to only being a puddle, he didn't stop. "Die die DIE!" he roared. Ink splashed in all directions.

Lector ran over, grabbing the end of the beam. "Nesbitt! You got it by now. We need to move on."

Nesbitt snarled, tearing the beam away from Lector. "Is that always your policy?! Move on?! Even when it comes to leaving our friend's body behind?! He gave his life for you and that's the thanks he gets?!"

Yugi would never forget the look in Lector's eyes. But he struggled to regain his composure and mask his hurt in the next moment. "We couldn't carry him, Nesbitt!" he snapped back. "None of us could have carried him! Several of us could have managed it, but the Pharaoh was right that it would have slowed us down too much! You know Gansley wouldn't have wanted that. And you can't think I did!"

"I don't know what I think!" Nesbitt shoved Lector violently into the wall. "Maybe you just didn't want to deal with the burden of trying to carry him!"

Lector wrenched Nesbitt's hands away from him. He was trying hard to keep his composure, but Nesbitt was making it very hard. He wanted to scream, to yell, to demand to know how Nesbitt could even think that. But . . . surely Nesbitt didn't, really. . . . Surely this was just another way he was manifesting his pain. . . . Lector couldn't deny that he actually preferred Nesbitt trying to lock his grief away over letting it spill out like this. He was hurting too, and Nesbitt was driving a sword through his shattered heart and twisting it in the wound.

Crump and Johnson came to life, hurrying over to try to defuse the situation. "Hey hey hey!" Crump exclaimed. "Nesbitt, for crying out loud, you've gotta stop it! You know you don't wanna hurt Lector!"

"You're letting your grief talk for you," Johnson agreed.

"Shut up," Nesbitt retorted. He looked back to Lector. "You always wanted to be top dog. You probably enjoyed taking over for Gansley, didn't you?! Finally, you became the number one man in something! And now he's dead and the position is completely yours!"

Lector snapped. He grabbed Nesbitt by the shirt, jerking him towards him with both hands. "Don't you dare say that to me again," he snarled, his hands and voice trembling. "Don't you dare!" He shoved Nesbitt, nearly causing him to lose his balance. Then he spun around, stalking off alone.

"Oh no," Yugi whispered.

"So this is what happens when they lose their leader," Tristan frowned. "They fall apart."

Mokuba came to life, running after his friend. "Lector!"

Nesbitt blinked, as if suddenly coming back to himself. He stared after the boy, the color draining from his face. "I . . . how could I have said that?" he gasped. "Lector never wanted to be our leader. He was always happy to let Gansley lead. I . . ." He shook his head, devastated. "What have I done?"

"I don't know what you've done!" Crump suddenly boomed. He took a deep breath, struggling to get himself back under control. ". . . But I know you're just being human and acting out of grief, like we all are," he said. "Lector knows you didn't mean it. It's okay. Just give him a few minutes."

"It's not okay!" Nesbitt boomed. "I just cut him to the core. I didn't mean what I said, but that doesn't matter." He covered his eyes with the heels of his hands, digging his fingers into his hair. "This wasn't a little spat. He'll never forgive me for this. I wouldn't forgive me either."

Crump exchanged a despairing look with Johnson. He had felt like screaming about how difficult this was on him too, but somehow he hadn't. Over the course of their disasters, he had had to learn a lot about being strong for the others and not always falling apart when he felt like it. But he wasn't sure how long he could keep that up. He had already started to crack.

Johnson looked back helplessly. He didn't know how to handle this either.

". . . Just give him some time, like Crump said," he said at last.

"There isn't any time," Nesbitt said morosely. "We have to go, like Lector said." He trudged on ahead. "I have to find him. . . ."

The rest of the group followed but hung back, wanting to give them some space.

"Well, he's as much of a loose cannon as ever," Duke muttered.

"But he has a good reason to be upset," Serenity said. "His friend just died and he couldn't do anything about it."

"It doesn't give him the right to take it out on another friend," Duke said. "He should be grateful he still has his other friends."

"And he knows that," David said. "I'm glad he feels bad and wants to make things right. I'm not sure I would have expected that from him."

". . . That's a good point," Duke conceded. "I know he's our ally now. Sometimes it's still hard to process."

"Hey, maybe you'll never like the guy, but there's no rule that says you have to," Tristan interjected. "I'm not that crazy about him myself."

Duke looked to him. "You like Yami Bakura now, don't you? . . . Our Yami Bakura, I mean."

Tristan flushed. "Yeah. . . . At least, better than I did, that's for sure. I think of him as a friend, not just an ally. But it took a long time, as everyone here knows. And even at that, we'll still never really see eye to eye on a lot of things. I've accepted that. I'm sure he has too. And I'm sure Nesbitt doesn't expect any of us to like him. But it's probably mutual."

"Yeah," Duke grunted.

"I don't know, guys," Serenity said. "I think he might care. He was so angry and full of hate before."

"And not much has changed," Duke pointed out. "He's just angry and full of hate at other things."

"And we're all angry too, aren't we?" Serenity said.

"It would be impossible not to be angry at what's been going on here," Duke said.

"So there you go," Serenity said. "We have that in common right now, so we can't use that to say that we don't care, since we know we still do even though we're angry."

"I guess you're right, but that doesn't prove Nesbitt cares about anyone other than the rest of the Big Five," Duke said.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Serenity said.

****

Mokuba caught up with Lector, sitting on some old stairs amid assorted Bendy merchandise and hunched over, staring at the floor. "Lector?" He went over, peering up at the man in concern. He had only rarely ever seen Lector so despondent and discouraged. It haunted him.

Lector looked at him, not really surprised to see him there. ". . . It's funny," he said. "Ever since I became close to those men, something in me thought we'd always be together. Strange, isn't it? And yet we really were inseparable. . . . Nothing ever kept us apart for long. Now this alternate Yami Bakura's Shadow Game has tore us all apart for good. Gansley's dead . . ." His voice caught in his throat. "And Nesbitt thinks I've just been enjoying my chance to take over for him. . . ."

"Lector, no. . . ." Mokuba sat on the next step down; they were too narrow for him to sit next to Lector. "You know how Nesbitt gets. You can't really think he meant that. . . ."

Lector shook his head. "But what if it's true?" he said morosely. "What if I have enjoyed it?"

"It's not true!" Mokuba insisted. "You'd never like being the leader when it had to come this way! You were so horrified when taking over KaibaCorp came at the expense of Gozaburo's life!" He reached up, laying a hand on Lector's arm. "You told me you kind of saw Gansley like a father figure. You love him so much. And he's your friend. You took over because you had to, because you were his second-in-command. You didn't want to." He blinked back tears.

Lector drew Mokuba into an embrace with his other arm. "It's horrible enough to lose Gansley," he said. "I didn't think I'd lose Nesbitt too. . . ."

"He just needs to calm down," Mokuba said. "He won't forget your friendship. You know how much he loves you. . . ."

". . . When he thought I was dead, he couldn't handle his grief and he pretended to be an android so he could lock it away," Lector said. "Now when Gansley's dead, he's having an outpouring of grief and taking it out on me. . . ."

"And it would crush him to pieces if anything happened to you," Mokuba insisted. "You know that!"

Lector finally sighed but nodded. "Yes . . . I know that. And he'd never forgive himself if the last thing he said to me was something angry and hateful."

"So it'll be okay. Between the two of you, I mean," Mokuba said. "I know it can never be okay about Gansley. . . ." He looked away. "I still miss Mom and Dad. . . ."

Lector held him close. "I know. . . ."

They fell silent, Lector wishing again that he could have adopted the boys before Seto had been corrupted by Gozaburo, Mokuba wishing that Lector had come to the orphanage instead of Gozaburo. Hopeless wishes, but dreams of how their lives could have been positively different.

"Lector . . ."

They looked up with a start. Nesbitt had caught up now and was standing at the bottom of the stairs, stricken.

"Nesbitt," Lector said slowly, cautiously. But he could see from Nesbitt's expression that he was remorseful.

"I didn't mean what I said," Nesbitt said sadly. "I swear to you I didn't. I couldn't! But . . . can you ever forgive me?"

Lector stood, coming down the steps to stand in front of him. He believed his friend, but he had been deeply hurt. There was still something he wanted to say. "I've failed if you believed what you said for even one moment."

"I didn't!" Nesbitt insisted. "And I know the logical thing to do was to leave Gansley's body. I just . . . couldn't be logical about it. You're trying to lead as he would have wanted. I know it's a burden you never wanted."

"Maybe I'm too stoic," Lector said. "Gansley was too. But Gansley never led like he was the only one whose opinion mattered; it was always a group decision for him. I wanted to lead that way as well, but maybe I haven't. Maybe I've been trying so hard to keep it together, to be anything like he was, that I've failed completely." He hesitated, then continued, "Maybe you don't know . . . but I need my friends, Nesbitt. I can't do this without support. I've lost one of my dearest friends and I don't know how I'm going to stand it." His voice cracked. "But I do know that the only way I can get by is if I don't have to lose any others. I believe that's true for all of us. We need each other now more than ever. Please . . . don't leave me, Nesbitt. . . . Don't leave me. . . ." He reached out, pulling Nesbitt close in an embrace.

Nesbitt froze, stunned. He couldn't remember Lector ever letting his shield crack to this extent. Of course, several months ago, the same had been true for him.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, and clutched Lector in desperation. "I'm sorry I made you feel so lost and alone. I promise I won't leave. I need you too . . . so much. . . . You have been a good leader and you've tried to give all of us our say. And for you to take me back after what I said is far more than I deserve."

"We all do that, though, don't we?" Lector said. "We always take each other back no matter what hurtful things were said and done, because that's what true family does."

Nesbitt nodded, but couldn't make himself speak further for the emotional lump in his throat.

"And I'm sorry if I didn't properly help you or be there for you," Lector said. "I know it couldn't have been easy, seeing Gansley acting like he'd lost his mind."

"I didn't let you in," Nesbitt said. "It wasn't your fault. And we didn't even have much chance to interact after I left . . . until I ran up and found Gansley dead. . . ."

Lector was chilled, even though he knew that was true. He wasn't sure what was worse, discovering a loved one dead and wondering if anything could have been done, or being there watching and knowing nothing could be done.

"You did help him, Nesbitt," he said at last. "It was because of you that he first started breaking free of the brainwashing. You helped him so much!"

"I want to believe that," Nesbitt said haltingly.

"It's true," Lector insisted.

From Nesbitt's expression, he still didn't know what he believed, but he definitely wanted to believe Lector was right. He finally just nodded.

"Whew," Crump said in relief. "I guess they've patched things up." He swallowed hard. "But I don't know how we're gonna deal with losing Gansley either. . . ."

"There's probably going to be a lot more pain and hurt and angry words," Johnson said. "But please, let's not forget who we are and what Gansley would want. He'd be devastated if his death broke us all apart. And . . . I know I couldn't take that either." He trembled. "I can't lose anyone else. . . ."

"You won't," Lector said firmly. "I promise."

"And we shouldn't linger here," Yami Bakura said. "What is it we're supposed to do in this warehouse?"

"Since things have been changed, I don't even know," Duke admitted. "In the game, Henry spends that part of it trying to get to Boris, but . . . of course that's impossible now, since Gansley was apparently the Boris equivalent. . . ."

"I guess we'll have to spend it trying to get to Grampa," Yugi spoke up. "He's still missing. . . ." He looked away, shutting his eyes tightly. He supposed he had to be grateful that unlike in the game, none of them had to kill a mind-controlled Gansley. As horrible as Lector felt right now, Yugi was sure that such a scenario would have devastated him far more.

"And we'll find him," Atem assured Yugi.

"I hope Alice didn't take him too," Yugi worried.

Joey had been worried about that very thing, but he didn't want to admit it. "Of course she wouldn't have got him!" he exclaimed. "Your Gramps is way too sneaky and crafty for the likes of her! Heck, he's in better physical condition than Gansley was, and he's older!" He trailed off, suddenly realizing what he had just blurted out.

Nesbitt gave him a cold look.

". . . No disrespect meant to Gansley, of course," Joey quickly added. Right now he wished he could crawl in the nearest hole and just stay there.

"Let's just go," Nesbitt growled.

Now reunited, the group headed deeper into the warehouse. Even without enemies coming after them, it was eerie wandering among the old Bendy merchandise and the failed theme park attraction. And even though they couldn't see any enemies, they were quite sure they were being watched.

"There's something here," Crump gulped.

"Probably those Lost Ones that stand around being creepy," Joey moaned.

"And what's this?" Tristan stared as they approached a doorway. "The Haunted House?!"

"It's just one of the attractions for the theme park," Duke said impatiently. "It's not a real haunted house."

"In this place, it'll probably be worse!" Joey countered.

Yugi sighed. "Well, it's one of the major parts of the game, so I guess we'll have to go in. . . ."

"I was afraid of that," Joey said in dismay.

"If it's like the game, we have to unlock it first," Duke said. He walked over and pulled a switch down. "We have to find several of these. And there's going to be more Butcher Gangs wandering around."

"Say it ain't so!" Joey wailed.

"Oh, toughen up," Yami Bakura grunted. "There'll no doubt be much worse than them farther down the line."

Joey scowled and muttered to himself.

Finding and throwing the switches was a long and terrifying experience, punctuated by appearances from many copies of the Butcher Gang. Everyone kept busy fighting them off and staying alert for any appearances from an even worse enemy—Bendy.

"I dunno whether to be glad he's not showing up or worried," Joey exclaimed as he floored another member of the Butcher Gang. "I mean, I'm sure we haven't heard the last from him."

"I'm sure we haven't either," Yami Bakura growled. "But for now let's focus on the problem at hand." He blasted away another of the creatures with a fishing pole for a neck.

Serenity shut her eyes tightly as she struck out at another member of the Butcher Gang. "Do these characters have individual names?" she wondered.

"Yeah. That one you got was Striker," Duke said. "Yami Bakura blasted Fisher."

"Figures." Joey rolled his eyes.

"The third one is Piper," Yugi supplied. "And I think we've got them all, guys!"

"Hey, what's that weird thing that looks kind of like a merry-go-round with carts instead of horses?" Crump asked.

As he spoke, the ride started up by itself, the carts spinning fast at first and then oddly slowing down.

"Look out!" Duke yelled. He pulled Serenity out of the way just as three connected carts slammed down where they had been standing, almost as if they were a giant hand on the end of a giant arm.

"Gah!" Crump tackled Lector and Nesbitt out of the way as three more carts swung in their direction. "What the heck?!"

Yugi grabbed his axe and struck the crane holding three more of the carts. "We have to dismantle all of them before they dismantle us!" he exclaimed.

"What's that in the center that looks like a big head?!" Téa shrieked. "It's moving! I saw it opening and closing its mouth!"

"In the game, you find a tape cassette right before the ride activates," Yugi said. "The man talking on the tape was also corrupted by the ink machine and that's him inside the center of the ride!"

"Gross!" Téa wailed.

Yami Bakura somersaulted out of the way of three more carts, snarling as he blasted them with the Infinity Ring.

Atem leaped onto more carts, hacking at the crane with the axe at the same time.

"Show-off," Yami Bakura muttered. But he jumped up as well.

"Oh dear," Bakura cringed. "Yami, this isn't the time to try to out-perform the Pharaoh!"

"It's the perfect time to work together with him to break this blasted thing!" Yami Bakura shot back. He leaped from the crane onto the center of the machine. "From here we can take out all of them!"

Atem jumped up beside him. "Good thinking. The cranes won't bend in this direction, so he can't try to knock us down!"

Between the two of them they managed to take out the remaining carts. The eyes of the face in the center widened in pain as the mouth opened in a silent scream. Then the visage deadened.

"Okay, I'm going to think twice before I accept Joey's next invitation to a theme park," Mai said.

"Are you kidding?! I'll think four times before even offering!" Joey retorted. "And maybe I won't! A nice horror movie wouldn't be as messed-up as this!"

"Of course not, because we wouldn't have to live it," Mai shot back.

"Well, so now what?" Tristan asked, looking to Yugi.

"I think this is the last switch," Yugi said, hurrying around the remains of the ride to throw a final switch. "So now we go to the Haunted House. The only problem is . . . well, the Projectionist is supposed to show up again, and Bendy. . . . We have to be careful of them."

"What's the Projectionist?" Marik frowned. "I know you mentioned him after Gansley was taken, but we were all too worried right then to question it."

"Oh, that's right. None of you guys were with me then. It was just me and Gansley. . . ." Yugi looked down sadly. "I'll explain on the way."

Everyone listened to Yugi's description of the Projectionist in sickened horror.

"An ink monster with a projection machine head?!" Téa gasped.

"And he freaks out anytime he sees somebody and starts chasing them?!" Mokuba stared. "Oh wow, this sounds bad."

"I'm also worried how we'll all hide," Yugi said. "In the game, there's something called a Little Miracle Station where you can go for protection from Bendy and the Projectionist. I haven't seen any of them here. They're little closet-like rooms with a slat in the door."

"Of course we haven't seen any! Why would that sick alternate Yami Bakura wanna give us something like that?!" Joey scowled.

"On the other hand, why not?" Yami Bakura said darkly. "Only one or two people could fit into it. He would probably find it delightful to see who we would pick to rescue."

Everyone fell silent at that. Who would they pick? Mokuba, as the youngest of them, would surely be chosen, but who else? Siblings would want to save each other, but they loved their friends dearly as well. And the Big Four were a family in all but their surnames.

". . . We would all stay outside," Lector said quietly after looking to Nesbitt, Crump, and Johnson for confirmation. "If we're going down, we would rather all go together."

"Let's hope it won't be an issue," Yugi said.

They continued walking towards the Haunted House, tense and nervous as they looked around for any sign of either Bendy or the Projectionist. The silence was once again eerie instead of comforting.

Marik looked up at Rishid, who had been largely silent throughout this experience but was clearly concerned. "What do you make of all of this, Brother?" he asked.

"I don't know what to make of it, Marik," Rishid replied. "I have never experienced anything like this. Of course, I know that's true for all of us."

Ishizu nodded. "We are in grave danger. But of course, all of us know that already." Her eyes flickered with fear. "I must admit, as we go deeper into this madness, I wonder if we will all come out."

"We have to!" Marik exclaimed. "And poor Gansley. . . . I still want to believe he can be revived. . . ."

"How I wish he could," Rishid said quietly. "When I see the sorrow and grief of his friends, I recognize it most acutely. I would feel the same were I to lose either of you."

"As would we all," Ishizu said, equally quietly.

Yugi was extremely worried when they arrived at the doors to the Haunted House and they opened with a cruel chuckle. "No sign of Bendy or the Projectionist," he said. "I'm sure they'll pop up, so things must be happening out of order again."

"And meanwhile, all we can do is go into the Haunted House," Tristan said.

Nervous and worried, the group advanced through the doors. The lighting did not change, and revealed skeletons and other ghoulish creatures leering at them from both sides of a pathway. Every now and then, a tombstone-shaped object marked R.I.P. was visible.

"This was probably based on The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disney," Duke said. "There's supposed to be a ride on a cart through it. It looks like one of the changes here is that we're going to have to walk through instead."

"Then let's go," Yugi said. "Hopefully none of the ghosts in here will really come after us."

"Knowing our Game Master, they probably will," Tristan said darkly.

They all wandered through the Haunted House, fully expecting that any moment something would leap out at them. Instead, aside from the skeletons laughing at them as they passed by, everything was still.

"This still creeps me out worse than anything happening!" Joey exclaimed. "Although this happening is plenty!" He glowered at a giggling skeleton.

"Stay strong, guys," Yugi said. "It's while we're in here that terrible things happen. Exactly what, I don't know, since it will have to be different from the game, but . . ." He trailed off as they approached what looked like a large and wrecked ballroom. "This is it. . . ."

An inhuman shriek stunned all of them. Then their enemy dropped down in front of them, inky hands raised.

"It's the Projectionist!" Yugi screamed. "Everyone run!"

No one needed any prompting. The group spread out through the ballroom, running madly. The Projectionist could only chase one of them at a time, so this way they had their best chance.

Or at least they did . . . until Bendy appeared and grabbed for the nearest person with a demonic grin.

"You're not getting my brother!" Mokuba screamed. He desperately shoved Seto away, even as he felt Bendy's claws starting to tear through his shirt.

"Mokuba!" Seto managed to pull Mokuba away just in time.

"A touch from Bendy is instant death," Yugi exclaimed.

Bendy looked around, studying the fleeing group, and suddenly pounced on the Projectionist instead.

"What's he got against that guy?!" Tristan exclaimed.

"I dunno, but I'm grateful!" Crump retorted.

"Oh, he'll be coming after all of you next," Alice's voice abruptly said.

Everyone jerked and looked up.

"Where are you?!" Nesbitt snarled. "You killed Gansley! I won't forgive you!"

"None of us will," Lector said darkly. "And we'll avenge our fallen friend."

Alice shrieked, suddenly furious. "Not if I take you out first!" She flew out in a rage, lunging for Johnson. He stumbled to the side, shocked, swinging out with the pipe he was using as a weapon. It connected with Alice's shoulder.

At the same moment, another weapon flew out from behind, striking Alice on the head. As she collapsed to the floor and began to fade to ink, Yugi caught sight of the weapon and gasped. "It can't be!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nesbitt's flashback makes references to past fics in the timeline, but I've tried to make it not so confusing for anyone who didn't read those fics (which are only on FF.net).

Everyone else looked towards the weapon with a jerk.

"Gansley's cane," Johnson whispered.

The wielder of the cane stepped out—tired, battle-worn, but very alive.

Johnson felt weak. "Gansley," he choked out.

Lector approached slowly, cautiously. It could be Alice's final trick, reanimating Gansley's body as the undead, but he had just attacked Alice to save Johnson. And his eyes . . . they were filled with recognition. "Is it really you?" he rasped. _Please . . . this has to be real, not a cruel trick. . . ._

"Yes," Gansley assured him. "It's me."

Nesbitt was still clearly skeptical, not wanting to be taken in only to realize it wasn't their dear friend. He didn't think he could deal with that additional pain. "There's no blood on your clothes," he objected. "And those wounds . . . you couldn't possibly be walking with them!"

"No, I couldn't," Gansley agreed. "I don't fully understand it myself, but I was healed."

"Gansley!" Crump tore past Nesbitt and Lector and pulled him into a tight hug. "Don't do that to us again! We can't lose you, Buddy!"

Johnson also embraced Gansley, a little more quietly, but no less emotional. "We were hoping so much that you could be saved," he said brokenly, "but we didn't think it would happen until we beat this game. . . ."

Lector was also confused about that. "There's nothing like this in the original game, is there?" he said to Yugi. "Boris doesn't come back. . . ."

"No, he doesn't." Yugi looked at Gansley with shining eyes and a joyous smile. "But don't question this too much. Just accept it."

"Well, I can't!" Nesbitt interjected. "It hurt too much to lose Gansley. And I have to be logical. I know he couldn't come back from something like that! This has to be a trick." He turned away. "I can't fall for it. . . . I can't be hurt like that again. . . ."

"It really is Gansley."

Again everyone looked up.

"Grampa!" Yugi tore forward at the sight of Solomon Muto and rushed into his arms. "I've been so worried . . . !"

"Worried? Bah, I've been having the time of my life!" Solomon hugged Yugi close. ". . . Well, no, that isn't quite true. This is one of the most demented games I've ever encountered. And what happened to Gansley was cruel and tragic. I found his body after you were all forced to leave him and run. I was just leaving him when these two showed up."

A second Alice Angel stepped into the room, accompanied by Boris the Wolf.

"Gah! Another Alice!" Joey screamed.

"Don't worry," she told him. "And I don't go by ‘Alice,' either. I'm Allison." She looked to where Gansley was returning Crump's and Johnson's hugs. "Your friend made a noble sacrifice, and in this world, that's what saved him."

Solomon nodded. "They led me back to where Gansley had fallen. His wounds healed and he woke up. We've been traveling together, trying to catch up to all of you from another path."

Yami Bakura grunted. "Of course, since this no doubt is a Shadow Game, a more likely explanation is simply that death is not real here and is never permanent if it happens. And since it's based on a video game, one can be restored when they die, just as in the actual game. That would explain why we didn't have to wait until beating the game to see him again."

"Well, whatever the reason is, it's awesome," Mokuba said with shining eyes. "I'm so happy for them. . . ."

Yugi firmly nodded. "They really deserved this."

"I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you," Gansley said. "If I could take it back while still protecting you, I would."

Finally convinced, Lector pulled Gansley close now, stray tears leaking from his eyes. "Nesbitt was right all along," he said. "We shouldn't have left you."

"No, you should have," Gansley insisted. He hugged Lector firmly. "You couldn't have known. All you knew was that there was no way you could drag my lifeless body around with you while you were fighting all your enemies. That would have been utter foolishness, and the delay could have caused many more of you to fall."

"I still wish we had," Lector said. "I'm so glad you're alright. . . ."

Nesbitt finally ventured over. "It's not a trick?" He looked at Gansley in heartbroken desperation. "It's really you?"

"Yes," Gansley assured him. "It's really me."

Nesbitt broke down sobbing and clutched at Gansley. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. . . ."

"You don't have any reason to be sorry," Gansley said in surprise and sorrow.

Nesbitt shook his head. "I couldn't save you. I didn't realize you went after Lector. And after you were . . . gone . . . I treated Lector horribly."

Gansley sighed. "I was afraid there might be trouble. We don't do well when one of us is gone." He pulled back, looking firmly at Nesbitt. "But what happened to me is not your fault! You did save me, Nesbitt. You saved my mind. And I'm glad you didn't know I went after Lector. I had fallen back under Alice's spell and was going after him to get the ink back. Then I got there and saw him being attacked and I was able to break free." His voice cracked.

"I wish you hadn't had to die to break free," Nesbitt said.

Lector nodded. "As I most certainly do."

"Let's just say all of us do and leave it at that," Crump said.

Johnson gave a sorrowful nod.

"Well, of course it's going to take a long time to recover from this," Gansley said, "but at least now we have the chance to try."

Nesbitt could only nod. "Yeah. . . ."

_"No no NO! This isn't how things were supposed to be at all!"_

Everyone jumped a mile. A flash of light and a second Yami Bakura was standing in front of them, eyes flashing in rage. His striped shirt was badly torn and he was clearly wounded in many places, most likely from the fight against Atem in his world, but he was heedless of all of that.

"I didn't program any of this into my game world," he spat. "This can't be!"

Yugi smirked at him. "I guess Yami Marik didn't tell you about the time he put some of us in a Shadow Game to play out a game over and over and it ended up that self-sacrifice was the key to getting out. He didn't program that in either."

Their Game Master snarled. "So, you think you have everything figured out, eh? You think you'll always win because of that?"

Bakura stepped forward. "I know life doesn't always work that way. I don't know why it sometimes has for us, but it hasn't always. People have died permanently, such as my mother and sister and the Kaiba brothers' parents and Pegasus's beloved Cecelia. And the Kul Elna massacre happened in this world too. I know you must have suffered a great deal in your life, just as my Yami did. But it's over now! Zorc is defeated. You don't have to fight anymore. Why don't you end this madness and we'll try to help you get back to your world? Go back to your Bakura. Beg his forgiveness for everything you've done!"

"Shut up!" The Game Master stepped forward, eyes flashing. "I have nothing, just as I did after the Kul Elna massacre."

"Then you admit now that you are Bakura and not Zorc," Bakura said.

Ignoring that, the Game Master said, "Actually, I did have something—a most valuable lesson in hatred and vengeance. That was also all I had after I lost to the Pharaoh, both in Egypt and today."

"And that is why you struck out at all of us, isn't it," Yami Bakura said. "It was your way of rebelling against your loss. You couldn't get back at the Pharaoh and Yugi who actually beat you, but going after another Pharaoh and Yugi was the next best thing."

"That's probably also why you targeted me," Gansley said darkly. "You couldn't care less about the Big Five, but you knew once you saw me protecting Yugi that hurting me would hurt Yugi."

"I didn't know you would be targeted," the Game Master insisted, "but I certainly wasn't about to complain when it happened."

"Oh, I think he did have a reason for targeting the Big Five," Bakura said. "He was jealous of their close bond. I think that's why he targets all the rest of us as well. He's probably also jealous of Yami, because Yami has a much better life than he has."

"Come on! You actually think I'd be jealous of another me?" the Game Master snorted.

"It is an interesting thought, isn't it?" Yami Bakura sneered. "Why don't we have a battle and see who's really the most powerful?"

The Game Master started to back into the shadows instead. "While that sounds like a highly appealing prospect, I think I'm going to let all of you play out the rest of this game instead. After all, I had some very dark plans for how to change the storyline. Let's see if your friendship and love can get you out of this!" His cruel laughter echoed all around them as he vanished.

"That creep!" Joey spat.

Solomon sighed. "Well, we have no choice but to play out the rest of his game. We'd better get started."

"So, what happens in this part of the game, Yug?" Joey nervously asked.

Yugi sighed. "The final boss battles." He looked to where Bendy had made short work of the Projectionist. In all the commotion, Bendy had dragged the body off without any of them really noticing, but there was a chilling trail of ink.

"And I'm guessing we're gonna have to face that freak," Joey gulped. "Only how is it gonna work when we really can't fight it?!"

"I just don't know," Yugi worried. "I'm still sure the Game Master won't do the twist of having Bendy watch that film reel, like I said."

"Well," Allison suddenly spoke up, "I don't know what you're talking about, really, but we need to go to the Ink River."

"Why?!" Joey exclaimed.

"To advance the plot," Duke grunted.

"In the game, it's to get away from Bendy," Yugi said, "which isn't a bad idea right now!"

Allison nodded. "We'll take you there. Let's go!"

No one protested.

The trip down to the bottom level and a river of literal ink was mostly uneventful, save for the usual ink monsters that rose to attack them. As everyone climbed into the barge at the dock, Joey caught sight of an ominous sign.

"‘There's something in the river'?!" he read in alarm. "What's that?!"

Yugi sighed. "A giant hand. We'll have to be careful, guys; just like with Bendy, being hit by the hand is instant death."

"So how do we stay away from it?!" Joey yelped.

"The only way is to keep the barge moving faster than the hand is moving," Yugi said.

"Then you can bet we're gonna do it!" Crump exclaimed.

The Ink River was disturbing all by itself—a seemingly endless path of darkness that twisted and turned down cold and dimly lit corridors. Knowing that somewhere under the surface was a sea monster just waiting to attack made the experience agonizing as well as chilling.

"Now I know how ancient sailors must have felt," Téa moaned.

"I doubt they were as terrified as Joey is right now," Yami Bakura smirked. If he was uneasy, he wasn't going to admit it.

"Aww, come on!" Joey snapped. "This is freaky! Don't tell me you're really not worried!"

The barge started to rock underneath them, sending several to the deck.

"Gah!" Joey yelped.

"Everyone, find something to hold on to!" Yugi directed. "It's not like this in the game. It's probably only going to get worse!"

The giant hand started to emerge from under the inky waves, reaching for the barge.

"It's big enough to crush us!" Serenity shrieked in horror.

"Go faster, go faster!" Joey yelled.

The desperation to keep the barge both upright and ahead of the hand was rising with everyone. Atem and Yami Bakura were currently trying to man the vessel, but no matter how fast they could make it go and how much they tried to keep the paddlewheel clear, the hand was always looming right there, sweeping at them again. The barge swerved sharply up on a wave to the right, then back down again.

Crump yelped as he went rolling from one side of the barge to the other. "Hey!"

Seto grabbed for him. "And here I thought you liked the water."

"You can't call this water!" Crump retorted. "I've never had such a bumpy ride!"

Lector looked over worriedly. He was trying to keep a look-out for the hand, but with both it and the barge weaving all over the river, it was almost impossible to keep track.

Without warning the hand crashed into the back of the barge.

"We're hit!" Tristan yelled.

Serenity screamed as she went flying through the air along with chunks of wood and pieces of rope. When she was suddenly caught before she could fly over the side of the barge, she and everyone else looked up in stunned surprise. "Mr. Nesbitt. . . ."

Nesbitt growled, holding her protectively close as they crashed on the deck of the barge. Something slammed into the back of his head when they hit and suddenly he wasn't on the barge anymore; he was in New Orleans, in a hotel suite, talking with Lector about some of the calamities that had beset them on their trip several weeks ago.

_"Gansley told me that you running into the warehouse after Mr. Ishtar and Mokuba was a matter of personal redemption for you," Lector said. "You put them in that deadly warehouse when we took over Mr. Kaiba's augmented reality game last year and you wanted a chance to save them from this one. I know that was true, but did it help you any?"_

_". . . Some," Nesbitt said. "But that was all eclipsed by the fact that we thought you were dead. I couldn't even think about what I did or how it may have helped anyone."_

_"Well." Lector walked over to him. "Don't forget that you saved the Ishtar boy, Nesbitt. You proved that you've got past your hatred and vengeance." He sighed. "I should have stopped you when you put him and Mokuba and Mr. Devlin and Mr. Tanaka in that warehouse in the past. I didn't know what you were doing at first, and when you had the Fire dragon head set it on fire, I could hardly believe it. I was right ready to leave the duel and go save them myself when I saw Yami Bakura go in after them. I thought he would probably stand a better chance of rescuing them, since his Infinity Ring is a compass. But I wish I'd gone anyway. Who knows what it would have changed; maybe it would have brought all of us back from the brink of darkness without having to be sent to the Shadow Realm first."_

_Nesbitt looked away. "We all would have got angry at you, the same as we did in the Shadow Realm when we realized you'd been trying to help Mokuba."_

_"And it's a moot point anyway, since I didn't do anything to stop your plot in the past except to create an escape route for everyone after Yami Bakura found them." Lector looked tired. "The point is, we both have so much to atone for. It's not all on you."_

Nesbitt was about to reply when Serenity's frantic voice cut into his memory of the conversation. "Mr. Nesbitt! Mr. Nesbitt, please wake up! Please!"

"Nesbitt?!" That was Gansley.

_Gansley. . . . He was alive. . . . It still seemed so unreal. . . ._

Nesbitt forced his eyes open. He was laying on his side on the deck, Serenity and the Big Four and many of the others kneeling around him. Splintered wood was scattered about, and the barge was still. They must have reached a shore. . . .

Crump breathed a sigh of relief. "We thought you weren't okay, Pal!"

"I'm alright," Nesbitt grunted awkwardly, although at the moment he certainly didn't feel alright.

"Thank God." Lector relaxed. "We didn't know what had happened. We thought maybe the hand struck you."

"I think it was the railing." Nesbitt sat up, grimacing as he touched the tender spot at the back of his head.

"You saved me," Serenity said softly. "Thank you. . . ."

Nesbitt looked away, embarrassed. "I had to. . . . I was the only one close by. . . ."

Gansley sighed. "Well, I wish you could rest, but I doubt we have time. We have to vacate this barge before the hand catches up with us."

Nesbitt forced himself to stand. "Then let's get out of here."

Johnson and Gansley took his arms to help him balance. Even as they headed for the other side of the barge and started to climb over, the hand was rising from under the ink river again.

"Here it comes!" Téa screamed. "Hurry, guys!"

The Big Five dived over the side and onto the shore just in time. The hand fell on the barge, splintering it to pieces and dragging it into the river.

"Hoo boy." Joey stared at the wreckage with a shiver. "So now what?" He turned to look at their new surroundings. "This place doesn't look like a five-star hotel either."

"It doesn't even look like a one-star hotel," Tristan retorted. The shoreline was covered with assorted buildings and houses, almost like an Old West town.

"Actually, it doesn't look that bad, considering," Crump said.

"It's the Lost Harbor," Duke said. "This is where the ink monsters live, both the mindless ones and the ones that used to be human."

Mokuba shrank back. "This place really looks like Cooperstown," he said softly.

Seto laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "It's going to be alright." He prayed that was really true.

Yugi's eyes were filled with worry. "Here we're going to run into Sammy, the guy who tried to sacrifice me and Gansley to Bendy," he said. "At least . . . if things play out the same as in the game, and here, it's hard to say."

"I don't see anybody," Crump objected. "But you mean it's the guy who drew the pentagram on the floor?!"

"Yeah," Duke said.

He looked to Nesbitt, awkward and yet wanting to say what was on his mind. "It doesn't really capture what I'm feeling now, but . . . thank you for rescuing Serenity," he said gruffly. "I know you've been our ally now, but I don't think I really expected you to do that."

Nesbitt nodded, still looking very awkward. "Things aren't like they used to be. I'm . . . sorry for everything I did that hurt you kids in the past. I want to be better than I was."

"And you are," Duke said. "You all are." He looked to the other members of the Big Five. "We're all grateful you're our friends now."

Lector also looked to the others before replying. "And we are all grateful that you have been willing to trust and forgive us," he said with a slight bow.

"Well, it didn't come for free," Seto grunted. "You had to convince us you were worthy of the privilege. At least in my case."

"Of course," Gansley said.

The group slowly advanced into the underground village. All the streetlights were on, but no one seemed to be around at all. Mokuba grew more and more visibly distressed, gripping Seto's hand as they walked down the Main Street. Marik and Lector also walked near him, recognizing his agony.

Suddenly an axe broke through a nearby wall. An ink monster stepped out, tightly clutching the weapon. A Bendy mask was concealing his face.

"I gave you everything!" he screamed, swinging the axe at the group. "Loyalty! Sacrifices! You promised to restore my humanity and you gave me nothing! You betrayed me!"

Yugi jumped back. "Look out, guys!"

"What the heck is this guy's deal?!" Tristan yelled as they all scattered. "None of us did anything to him!"

"Not to mention, none of us look like that Bendy creep he worships," Joey added.

"He's lost his mind," Gansley said grimly. He stumbled, and desperately dug his cane into the wooden sidewalk to steady himself. Lector and Nesbitt immediately took his arms.

"We are not losing you again," Lector vowed.

"Never," Nesbitt growled.

Sammy roared, madly swinging his axe in every possible direction. The group could only keep scattering, avoiding the weapon while trying to strike back with their pipes, axes, and wooden beams.

"So what happens at this point in the game?!" David exclaimed.

"Sammy tries to kill the protagonist," Duke called over Sammy's mad screams. "He's stopped by that new Boris. But I don't see any trace of him!"

Indeed, Sammy seemed to have cornered several of the group. "Sheep, sheep, sheep," he whispered, his voice suddenly low and eerie. "Now it's time to sleep. . . ."

Suddenly a beam of light shot out, piercing Sammy as he raised his axe to aim at Ishizu. He let out a gasp, falling forward as the mask slipped from his face. "Don't look at me," he commanded before dropping to the ground and vanishing into ink.

Ishizu looked up with a gasp. Yami Bakura was standing nearby, the Infinity Ring glowing from having blasted Sammy.

"That's about all the Ring can do in this game world," Yami Bakura grunted. "I'm surprised it can do that much."

"Thank you," Ishizu breathed.

Bakura laid a hand on Yami Bakura's shoulder. "Right now, it was enough," he said firmly.

"Let's get out of here," Yugi said worriedly. "I don't know what's going to happen next, because we're supposed to find the film reel to use on Bendy, and I don't think that's going to happen in this game."

"So from here on out, things could be really different in a bad way?" Joey looked around nervously. "We'd better be real careful. . . ."

"Way to play Captain Obvious," Mai said, rolling her eyes.

The group slowly advanced over the wooden floor. It creaked ominously, echoing throughout the lonely space.

"It feels like eyes are watching us everywhere," Crump groaned.

"Actually, they probably are," Yugi realized. "I forgot, before we leave here, we have to fight more ink monsters!"

Now the creatures were emerging from every direction, as if the apparent death of Sammy was drawing them out. They lunged with one accord, swarming the group on all sides.

"Ugh!" Mai knocked one away with her wooden beam. "These things are disgusting! Not to mention everywhere!"

The floor creaked more loudly.

"I think it's giving way!" Duke yelled. He swung a pipe at another ink monster.

Indeed, as the brawl continued, the floor weakened completely, sending the entire group plummeting to another level. The ink monsters splattered on impact and fell still. The group lay dazed, some on top of each other, as they tried to recover their senses.

"Oh . . . you're okay, aren't you, Grampa?" Yugi mumbled.

"I'm just fine, Yugi," Solomon groaned.

"You guys are all okay, right?" Crump asked.

"We're alive, at least," Gansley grunted.

"Seto?" Mokuba worriedly asked. "Marik? Lector?"

"We're okay," Seto assured him.

A chilling hissing sound brought everyone's attention up. All of the ink monsters were coming together, forming a creature that was very briefly Bendy before shifting to a new, monstrous form that still bore the same demonic grin.

"Oh no!" Yugi cried. "It's the beast form of Bendy, the final boss! And we don't have the film reel to destroy him!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The theories Yugi mentions have been used by The GameTheorists on YouTube. I imagine other fans subscribe to said theories too. I lean more towards the "game is symbolic" theory, but I have to admit, the literal interpretation has some strong possible evidence.

With no way to fight Bendy, the group had no choice but to run again. They fled desperately through the strange hallways and rooms, oddly filled with posters and other memorabilia despite how far down it was from the main levels of the studio.

"Where are we going?!" Joey yelled.

"I'm hoping to get to where the film reel was, but I can't find it!" Yugi exclaimed. "I'm sure it's not here!"

Bendy tore after them on all fours, hissing and snarling while his mouth remained open in its sickening grin.

"Maybe we'll have to split up again!" Mai called.

"I'd rather not!" Yugi called back. "I really think we should try to stay together. We don't know what's going to happen in this changed boss battle!"

They thundered up several flights of stairs, Bendy hot in pursuit. As they desperately ran across a balcony, Bendy swiped at Mai and she ducked, crashing into the railing as she did. The wood splintered and broke, sending her plummeting out of sight with a scream.

Joey stopped cold. "MAI!" He ran to the broken railing, his heart thumping frantically in his chest. Please be hanging on the edge . . . please. . . .

But all he could see was the ink machine pumping below them.

"What's going on, Joey?!" Serenity ran over now. "Where's Mai?!"

"I think . . . aww, no, it just can't be!" Joey gripped what was left of the railing. "I think she must've fallen into the ink machine!"

Everyone was staring over the railing now. There was absolutely no sign of Mai, but they couldn't bring themselves to believe the horrifying possibility.

"Maybe an ink monster was waiting below and just carted her away," Tristan suggested.

"Maybe," Joey said. "Mai?!" He looked around frantically. "Mai, where are you?! Answer me!"

"Hey, what happened to Bendy?!" Crump suddenly remembered.

Everyone looked around in disbelieving bewilderment. The beast had completely vanished.

By now Joey was climbing down through the broken railing and dropping onto the ink machine below. "Mai?!" A hatch on top was open, and he looked through it in horror and alarm.

Serenity was sickened. "What if she really did fall in there?!" she gasped.

"Then . . ." Yugi swallowed hard. "She might become one of the Lost Ones. Or her soul might be taken to power a living cartoon character like Alice Angel."

Without warning, Bendy leaped out of the shadows and flew at the entire group. Several shouted in horror as they desperately dove out of the way, but the creature's abrupt appearance caused some of the group to hit the railing hard in other spots. It gave way, sending everyone too close to it to plunge below.

Joey started. "Yugi!" He grabbed his friend as he fell, causing both of them to tumble off the ink machine and crash to the floor.

"Oh. . . ." Dazed, Yugi still tried to push himself up. "Thanks, Joey. . . . Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I don't know about everyone else who fell!" Joey looked up at the balcony. Marik and Seto were both desperately gripping the edge of it with both hands. Rishid and Lector went to their aid, but Bendy was still right there, again galloping towards them with demonic speed. Forced to dodge him, the rescuers as well as Seto and Marik fell over the railing.

"No!" Yugi screamed.

Mokuba dived after them. "I won't let you go!"

"Mokuba!" Seto yelled in horror. "Get back!"

Nesbitt was also desperately flying towards the edge, grabbing for Lector. Anyone else who hadn't fallen and who wasn't being chased across the balcony by Bendy joined the frantic attempt to save the falling people.

Yugi and Joey leaped to their feet, running back to the ink machine. Joey scrambled up, slamming the hatch down just before Seto crashed on top of it. Seto grunted, stunned, but immediately reached for Mokuba as he fell into his arms.

"Do you know how dangerous that was?!" Seto cried.

"I couldn't let you fall, Seto," Mokuba sobbed. "Or Marik and Lector. . . ."

"Rishid!" Marik screamed. He had hit the ink machine on its side and was now gripping it tightly. "I think he fell in before you managed to close it, Joey!"

"What?!" Joey stared at the machine, aghast. "Oh no!"

Mokuba went sheet-white. "Marik. . . ." He knelt on the roof of the machine and scrambled over to where Marik was climbing up in desperation. "I'm so sorry. . . ."

Lector was coming from the other side of the ink machine, dazed but alright. "Nesbitt didn't fall in, did he?!"

"No," came Nesbitt's voice from above. He was clinging to the edge of the balcony while Yami Bakura pulled him up.

Lector relaxed, but he looked back to Marik and Joey in sickened horror. Their Game Master was going all-out to be cruel.

Yami Bakura ungracefully deposited Nesbitt back on the balcony and looked around frantically. "Where's Bakura?!"

Atem started. "Oh no! He isn't here?!"

"He must have run off with the ones Bendy's chasing," Yugi said.

Oreo suddenly gave an anguished yowl. She was climbing up on the ink machine from where she had landed near its bottom. And she had been in Bakura's arms. . . .

"No!" Yami Bakura jumped onto the machine and wrenched the hatch up. "Bakura?! Are you in here?! Blast it, answer me!"

"Oh my gosh. . . ." Trembling, Yugi backed up into Joey. "This can't be real. . . ."

"It's not real!" Joey cried. "Just like with Gansley, right?! They're gonna be fine!"

"I don't know," Yugi whispered.

Joey spun Yugi around, gripping his shoulders. "Whaddya mean, Yugi?!" he demanded. "They have to be fine! At least they've gotta be fine if we can beat this game, remember?!"

"But that's just it, Joey." Yugi looked up at him, and he seemed shellshocked and defeated. "I don't know if we can now. They didn't suffer a regular video game death. There are clues in the game that Joey Drew, the guy who opened the studio, was sacrificing people's souls to create his living cartoon characters. Some people even theorize that the protagonist of the game was tricked and sacrificed and he's wandering aimlessly through the studio as a lost spirit trapped in one of the cartoon character bodies. If our Game Master has decided to take advantage of that idea and make that the ‘ending' of this game, we'll all fall eventually. It will be an endless loop of playing through the game over and over, and each time we get to this point, more of us will fall into the ink machine until none of us are left."

"No!" Joey clenched his teeth. "We broke out of an endless loop of a game before, Yug! I know you remember; you were talking about it to that freak! There has to be a way out of this, even if we do have to start over!"

"I thought I understood the rules of the game," Yugi whispered, "but now everything's changed. I don't know anymore."

Yami Bakura was trying desperately to shine the light of the Infinity Ring into the ink machine, but all he could see was the blackness of ink. He clutched the edge of the roof, his knuckles white.

"Rishid!" Marik suddenly ran forward as he reached the top, desperate to climb into the machine. "RISHID!"

Seto snarled, grabbing the frantic brother and pulling him back. "You can't get him back that way!" he snapped. "If you go in after him, you'll just be another casualty! Think about your sister! And Mokuba! You can't do that to them!"

Marik quaked in Seto's grasp. Normally he was logical and level-headed, but this was too much. "Even Yugi's lost hope," he said in horror. "There's no way out. And we'll never get our Lost Ones back. . . ."

Nesbitt stared at the scene from the edge of the balcony. It was horrible, haunting. And if it hadn't been for Yami Bakura, he would have fallen into the machine as well and added to the suffering.

What if . . .

Yami Bakura was now giving him a cold glare. "I saved you at the expense of Bakura," he hissed. "I didn't even know Bakura had fallen; I only saw you. Now he's gone. That madman couldn't control the world he created and he's let Bakura fall. Or maybe he decided he didn't care after all. Maybe he did this on purpose." He stood, collecting Oreo before jumping down from the ink machine.

Nesbitt shrank back. "It's my fault," he whispered. He looked down at his hands. "I never thought something like this would matter to me in the past. . . . But now . . . now it's a heavy weight on my shoulders. . . ."

Gansley growled. "Nesbitt, this is not your fault!" He knelt behind his friend and gripped his shoulders. "It was a tragic accident. Bendy caused a lot of people to fall. Some of them avoided the ink machine and some of them didn't. It's no one's fault but Bendy's . . . and that other Yami Bakura's."

"Logically I may know that," Nesbitt told him, "but in my mind I still can't process it. Someone has suffered a fate worse than death . . . because of me. . . ." He stared down at Yami Bakura, who was walking away from the group petting Oreo. "And he will never get over it . . . just as none of us would have ever got over your death. . . ."

Gansley could only hold Nesbitt close. Everything had seemed so hopeful, so bright, when he had been restored. But their Game Master had been planning this twist, and he had known that he would shatter everyone's hopes when they reached it. And Gansley had to admit, he didn't know what was going to happen now or if there was any hope for any of them.

****

Far past the broken balcony, Ishizu, Téa, and others were still fleeing from Bendy. "What's happening back there?!" Téa shrieked.

"I don't know, but I have a terrible feeling about my brothers," Ishizu exclaimed. "And everyone else. . . ."

"Oh no," Téa cried. "Yugi. . . . Everyone. . . ."

It was hard to say how far they ran. When at last they found some stairs down to the next level, the others were nowhere in sight. But Bendy was still behind them, so they had to keep going. At the bottom of the stairs they scattered, hoping to lose Bendy down one of the many twisting paths. Eventually it worked, as it had before; there was finally no trace of the beast, much to Téa's relief. All was silent, save for other human footsteps. But when she caught sight of several coffins leaned upright against the wall, she gasped in horror.

What was it about the macabre that drew people to it, even if they didn't like it? Just as at Duelist Kingdom, Téa approached the coffins, feeling drawn to them in some inexplicable way. But when she was close enough to see the small plaques screwed on them, the color drained from her face.

_Mai Valentine_

_Rishid Ishtar_

_Ryou Bakura_

"No!" She reached out for the nearest coffin, Bakura's coffin. It couldn't be real. . . . They must have just been set here for some evil scheme, maybe a psych-out tactic, and there was still time to save the actual people. The Game Master hadn't wanted Bakura to be hurt. . . . But Ishizu had felt a horrible foreboding about the rest of the group, and especially her brothers. . . .

There was no choice. Téa had to open the coffin. She gripped the edge of the lid, prying it away from the rest of the box. It creaked aside.

Téa wasn't sure what she felt when she saw it was clearly empty. Was it just a psych-out tactic? But where was Bakura? And the others? She bit her lip, moving to open the other two coffins.

Ishizu and the rest arrived while she was working on the second one's lid. "Rishid!" Ishizu cried.

Téa spun around. She had never thought Ishizu would or could look faint, but the sight of the second coffin had caused her to fumble.

Solomon grabbed her from behind to steady her. "What's happening, Téa?! Are these really coffins for our friends, our family?!"

"I don't know, Mr. Muto," Téa wailed. "They're all empty, and I want to be glad about that, but in this place, I don't know if it's good or bad!"

Ishizu took a deep breath, holding a hand to her heart. "I am going to believe it's good," she said. Relief was definitely sweeping over her to see the empty coffins. "I can't believe otherwise."

"I know how you feel," Téa said. "Let's find Yugi and Kaiba and everyone else. Maybe they can tell us what's going on."

Duke looked grim as he closed the lids to the coffins while they walked past, a fact that wasn't lost on David. "Do you know something about this?" he asked quietly. "Is it significant in the game?"

"Yes and no," Duke told him, keeping his voice low. "There's coffins like this in the game, and on replays you can see they have the names of certain characters who worked at the studio, but the coffins can't be opened and it's part of the mystery why they're there and what happened to the people whose names are on them. Of course, part of it depends too on whether you believe the game is symbolic or literal, and I'm so turned around I have no idea anymore."

David shivered. "Well, we'd better find out what the case is here, and soon."

"I know." Duke glared ahead. "But I have to admit, I'm scared to find out."

"Me too, Dukey-Boy," David said. "Me too. . . ."

****

Yugi's group was still reeling from all the horrors of the ink machine catastrophe. No one knew what to say or even do. Yugi was still badly shaken, unable to perk up at all. Atem, Solomon, Téa, and Joey were all at a loss on how to help him.

"Everything's gone so wrong," Serenity whispered, brushing tears away from her face. "We thought everything would be okay when Mr. Gansley was alright, but now . . ."

"Hey, everything's still gonna be alright, Sis!" Joey insisted. "Maybe I don't know how yet, but I know it's gonna be!"

Serenity tried to smile. "You never give up hope, Joey."

"I'm sure not gonna give up hope now," Joey said.

"Hey!" Tristan called. "There's Duke's group! They're coming back!"

Now everyone did perk up, even Yugi. At least not everyone they hadn't found wasn't gone. . . .

Serenity ran over in relief, throwing her arms around her beau. "Duke! I was so worried. . . ."

Tristan looked away. While he was glad to see Duke's group safe, it still hurt to see Serenity with him. But while Tristan still hoped she might someday pay more attention to him, he knew it was unlikely that she would see him as something other than another brother.

Duke held her close. "I was too." He watched grimly as Ishizu and Téa trudged over to Marik and Yugi, respectively. "But I don't envy their positions now."

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked. But she soon heard their story, and then she knew exactly what he meant.

"Marik. . . ." Ishizu's heart was heavy as she spoke to her younger brother. "I saw a coffin with Rishid's name on it. . . ."

Marik fell back in disbelieving horror. "No! . . . It's a trick!"

"It may be," Ishizu said. "I pray that it is. All the coffins we found were empty. But the fact that they bear our loved ones' names is still a grave worry. We also found coffins for Bakura and Mai."

"No. . . ." Shaking, Marik looked over at Téa, who was telling the same story to Yugi.

Yugi looked down, grim and sad. "If you replay the game, you'll find the names of certain characters on the coffins in one of the rooms," he said. "The coffins are never opened, but seeing the names is chilling enough. And some gamers theorize that those characters' bodies are in the coffins, that they were put there after their souls were sacrificed to animate living cartoon characters."

"How horrible," Téa moaned.

"Where's Yami Bakura?" Atem frowned. "He needs to hear this. . . ."

"He must have stormed off," Tristan realized. "He was holding Oreo, but now she's back here!"

"Oh no." Atem looked towards the corridor. "We have to go after him."

 

Yugi took a deep breath. "Then let's go."

"It's better than standing around here wondering what to do," Crump said.

****

Yami Bakura's mind and heart were spinning as he stormed down the hall. He had let Oreo go, and she had run back to the ink machine, yowling piteously. He didn't want the cat with him when he did what he was going to do.

This entire experience had been a bizarre and twisted mess. It was outlandish that another version of him from some alternate dimension was behind all of their suffering. But as long as he had been convinced that the other him didn't want Bakura hurt, he had been able to relax to some extent. Yugi had seemed to be the target of the Game Master's anger, as well as the Big Five. The Game Master had, perhaps oddly enough, left his counterpart alone—although Bakura had surmised that he was jealous of this Yami Bakura's happier life.

Now all of that had been stripped away.

"Where are you?!" Yami Bakura screamed. He stopped in the middle of a corridor and just stood there, heart racing, seeking any sign of the Game Master . . . or of any living cartoon character that might now house Bakura's soul. "Come out and face me! Is this what you wanted?!"

A flash of light and the Game Master was standing before him, hateful and angry. "The Landlord was always ungrateful," he spat. "I'm paying him back."

Yami Bakura grabbed him, slamming him against the nearest wall. "This isn't even your Bakura!" he snarled. "And are you saying you did this on purpose?!"

The Game Master looked away, trembling. "I didn't plan on him falling, but I don't care."

Yami Bakura growled. "You don't need him anymore, is that it? All of your plans have failed and the Millennium Ring is gone and your goals are gone, and Bakura is now nothing to you?"

"Shut up!" The Game Master shoved him away and stepped forward, eyes flashing. "You don't know me. We're not the same!"

"No, we're not." Yami Bakura held his ground.

"You don't even look like me," the Game Master said. "You're appearing as the Thief King Bakura, an old fool who actually believed in justice and righteous vengeance."

"Oh, I can look like you if I feel like it." To demonstrate, Yami Bakura willed the Infinity Ring to change his appearance to that of a mirror of his nemesis. "Both are me; I don't want to choose one or the other."

The Game Master stumbled back, honestly surprised and shaken. "How did you do that?!"

"You seem to have studied all about the differences between our worlds," Yami Bakura retorted. "Surely you must have discovered that one as well."

The Game Master looked down at the Infinity Ring. "Yes, but it's different to see it in action." He reached out for it. "What if I took it? Would it respond to me? Would it think I'm you?"

"I doubt it," Yami Bakura grunted. "And it will destroy anyone who tries to use it for evil." He jerked back.

"You were just like me," the Game Master snarled. "How did you become this?"

"At first it was merely a matter of survival," Yami Bakura said. "I was angry and confused and hurting when Zorc was defeated. The Ring mended the damage to my spirit from Zorc tearing free. Bakura allowed me to stay with him, and over time I finally acknowledged that I cared for him.

"It's still a matter of survival, I suppose. It's hard for me to fully accept that I can be a halfway decent person, although Bakura tells me I am every day. And I honestly don't want him hurt, or any of the others, now." He frowned at the Game Master. "You've already indicated that you care about your Bakura in some twisted fashion. You even claimed to think he would be grateful for you sealing his friends' souls in objects. But surely you can't think he wanted something like this to become of him."

The Game Master looked away.

"And to some extent, you must still believe in justice yourself," Yami Bakura continued. "You protected your Bakura from bullies. Maybe you even do care about what has happened to this Bakura, but you can't or won't admit it. I was like that, once."

The Game Master didn't acknowledge that.

"How do I set this right?!" Yami Bakura finally screamed. "This is a Shadow Game; there has to be a way to end it!"

"Well, you're just as expert on Shadow Games as I am," the Game Master hissed. "Why don't you figure it out?"

"Yugi thinks you've set it up so we'll have to repeat it over and over," Yami Bakura said. "Is that true?"

"I don't know," the Game Master whispered.

"What?!" Yami Bakura grabbed him and forced him to turn around. "You can't not know! One of the first rules of Shadow Games is crafting everything about them before you inflict them on your victims! You have to have a way to end them!"

"I gave the characters free will, and they've used it," the Game Master said. "I don't know how it ends. I didn't craft an ending because yes, once I knew that it looked like the original game was an endless loop, I wanted to use that twist in my Shadow Game version!"

Yami Bakura cursed him in Egyptian. It was horrible enough that this was happening at all. But to think on how he used to be like this other him, to relish the suffering even of those who didn't deserve it, turned his stomach. How much had been Zorc and how much had been him? That was a question he still couldn't answer. Seeing this other him only confused him all the more.

". . . Your Bakura loves you," the Game Master suddenly rasped. "Why?"

"It didn't happen overnight," Yami Bakura grunted. "You told about all the different things you supposedly did for your Bakura, but there was more to it than that, wasn't there? You probably left a lot of the story out, like things you did to him."

The Game Master growled and looked away. "So what if I did? It doesn't make him any less ungrateful!"

"And it's pointless right now anyway," Yami Bakura growled. "I couldn't care less about your problems, except for how you're making your problems our problems! I need a way to fix this!"

"Bakura!"

The trio looked up with a start. Yugi was leading the group from the ink machine over to them. It was Atem who had called out.

The Game Master slinked back. "The Pharaoh and the thief, archenemies, but now allies and friends?" he spat.

"Let's say allies," Atem said. He looked to Yami Bakura. "Why did you run off like that?!"

"Why do you think?!" Yami Bakura shot back. "You're not my keeper, Pharaoh. I don't answer to you!"

"Now you sound like the creep who put us all in here!" Joey snapped.

"I'm nothing like him!" both Yami Bakuras yelled as one.

"Stop!" Yugi cried. He ran out in front of Yami Bakura. "We have to get out of this mess! Duke's group caught up with ours and Téa found coffins." Tears filled his eyes. "Including Bakura's. . . . They're gone and we don't know where. It's not like with Gansley."

"No!" Joey boomed. "We're gonna save them and then we're gonna get out of this demented game! We have to, and I'm not taking No for an answer!"

"There is no way out!" Yami Bakura boomed back. "This character admitted he didn't make an ending! He planned for us to all stay trapped here indefinitely, repeating an endless loop!"

"But he didn't plan on Gansley coming back either, and he did!" Crump countered.

Everyone fell silent at the reminder. Then Yugi started to perk up. "I wonder . . ."

"What, Yugi?!" Téa demanded.

"Well, what if we act out the rest of the game and see if that would wrap it up even without the Game Master making an ending?" Yugi suggested. "There's no film reel marked The End, probably, but we could always find one and write that on it. Or maybe we could even will it into being! Then we go to the room where we face off against Bendy for the last time and try to play it!"

"Anything's worth a try," Seto growled. "Just get us out of here!"

"Alright." Yugi looked around, trying to orient himself. "I think we go this way." He started down the hallway to the right. Everyone else swiftly followed.

"I see something shining in there," Joey suddenly announced. He ran into a room and came back with a canister. "Look, Yug!"

"Is that what we want?" Serenity wondered.

"I think so," Yugi beamed. "It says The End on it! This is great; we might have our ending now! Let's find the projection room and hope that Bendy will follow us there!"

"Wait, you want that thing to follow us now?" Tristan frowned.

"I'll explain on the way," Yugi said.

"Well, you won't have to look far," Duke said, pointing down the hall. "Here it comes!"

Bendy let out an animalistic snarl as it lunged into view.

"Run, everyone!" Yugi yelled.

Everyone did, Seto lifting Mokuba into his arms as they tore down the corridor. Mokuba, terrified and just wanting to get out, didn't protest.

At last they rounded a corner and discovered the room they were seeking. Yugi ran in and loaded the film, threading it onto the second reel. "Please work," he whispered.

As Bendy appeared, lunging for him, he threw the switch. Every screen in the room lit up with the words The End. The creature hissed and yowled, backing up to escape his fate. But it was no use. Just as in the game, he began to dissolve into nothing. At the last moment he turned, clawing at the Game Master with a vicious hand.

Yugi flinched. "Are you alright?!"

The Game Master looked down at the wound, shocked for a brief moment. Then he started to laugh.

Joey stared. "I don't get the joke."

"I feel it," the Game Master cackled. "I feel the pain."

The masochistic laughter filled everyone's ears as bright lights eclipsed their vision. Then the game world fell away, sending them all sprawling onto Bakura's front lawn.

Yami Bakura was immediately up and looking around. "Bakura?! Are you here?!"

"Oh. . . ." Bakura groaned and sat up, holding a hand to his head. "Are we home? Is everything back to normal?"

Yami Bakura ran over. "You're safe," he said in relief. "We're free."

Oreo cuddled Bakura in joy. Joey and Serenity were embracing Mai, while the Ishtar siblings were also reuniting.

"We're all here too, right?!" Crump demanded.

Lector looked around to be sure. "We're all here," he said in relief, seeing Gansley, Nesbitt, and Johnson nearby on the grass.

Mokuba hugged Seto. "We're home," he whispered. It seemed almost too good to be true.

Yugi started to relax, but tensed again at the sight of the Game Master sitting up on the lawn and staring at the blood dripping from his fingers. "Thank goodness," he breathed. "Now . . . we just have to figure out what to do with him."


	11. Chapter 11

It still seemed unreal that they were finally free of the cruel Shadow Game. Marik and Ishizu were clutching Rishid close, not wanting to let him out of their sight. Joey was feeling very protective of Mai. Yami Bakura, of course, felt likewise about Bakura and was sitting close to him. And those who had been lost were grateful to be found and shaken by their experiences.

"I don't even fully remember what happened," Bakura admitted. "I was able to let go of Oreo so she wouldn't fall into the ink machine, but I couldn't save myself as well. Then everything was so dark and cold and nightmarish. . . . I can't even remember details, just feelings and visions in shadow. It was horrible. . . ."

Yami Bakura growled. "I couldn't even do anything," he said bitterly.

"We're together now," Bakura smiled. He sobered. "But I'm so sorry, Yami. . . . I never wanted to cause you any pain. . . ."

Yami Bakura grunted. "It wasn't you, it was that blasted other me."

"And you did save Nesbitt," Gansley said coolly, "although we know you wished you hadn't when Bakura was a casualty."

Yami Bakura looked away uncomfortably.

"He was already feeling badly enough believing he wasn't able to help Gansley," Johnson spoke up. "We realize of course that you were hurting, but did you have to actually blame Nesbitt to his face?"

"No, I didn't," Yami Bakura retorted, "just as you didn't have to do any of the wretched things you did in the past."

"Touché," Johnson conceded.

Lector kept an arm around Nesbitt's shoulders. He was angry that Nesbitt had been blamed as well, especially for something that really hadn't been his fault. But, he supposed, they had all blamed others for things that weren't their fault. All of them had cast blame on Yugi and the rest when it had been their own fault that they had become trapped in virtual reality. Maybe it was their just desserts to be blamed now, although it was hard for him to really see it that way when he saw how Nesbitt was hurting.

"There's something I'd like to know," Marik spoke up. "If being hit by the monster forms of Bendy is instant death, why didn't the Game Master vanish?"

"Maybe because Bendy was dying?" Joey shrugged. "Eh, you'd know a creep like this would always have a backdoor way to save himself."

"Anyway, we made it back to the real-world in the next instant, so even if he was going to vanish, that reversed it," Tristan said.

"But he's still wounded," Marik pointed out. "Gansley was healed. Bakura, Mai, and Rishid don't seem to be suffering any lingering physical effects. Why is he?"

"Perhaps because he's not from this dimension," Yami Bakura suggested. "Or simply because he enjoys pain." He quirked an eyebrow. "People have thought I was masochistic through the centuries, but this version of me actually is."

". . . You know, that could explain a lot," Mai mused. "If he likes pain, maybe he thinks his Bakura does too, and in his twisted mind, by doing things that cause pain, he thinks Bakura will appreciate it and it's a way of showing affection for him?"

"My word," Bakura gasped.

"Well, what are we supposed to do with that?!" Téa moaned. "How do we reason with someone like that?!"

"I'm not sure we can," Yugi said. "Being free of Zorc should have helped him, but . . ."

"Not if he was already off-kilter before Zorc got to him," Yami Bakura grunted. "Not to mention, he clearly doesn't seem ready to be free of Zorc. He calls himself Zorc."

"But . . . I hate to think of just sending him to the Shadow Realm," Bakura frowned. "Is that really the only option?"

"I don't know," Atem frowned too. "We can't leave him around to cause trouble here, and even if we knew how to send him home, I wouldn't want to plague those poor souls with his presence if he would start in causing trouble for them again."

"Hey. . . ." Yugi looked to him. "Can you still do the Mind Crush? Maybe you could do that on him and that would give him the chance he needs to soul-search and find his way."

Atem blinked in surprise. "I've never tried it with the Infinity Puzzle, but I suppose I could try." He looked to the Game Master, who seemed lost in his own world.

"Well, try it before he snaps out of La-La Land and puts us in Nightmare on Elm Street or something!" Joey cried. "Not that I wouldn't rather face Freddy Krueger than Bendy. . . ."

Yami Bakura smirked at him. "I'm sure I could arrange that, if you really want to."

"No!" Joey yelped.

Atem ignored their hijinks, instead focusing on powering the Infinity Puzzle. When it felt ready, he looked to the Game Master. He was looking up at the same moment and they locked eyes. "Mind Crush!" Atem yelled without explanation.

The Game Master roared, furious and shocked. But when the light from the Puzzle faded, he was laying in the grass. The Mind Crush had apparently worked.

"Okay, so now what do we do with him?" Crump wondered.

"We'll have to keep him somewhere until he comes out of the coma and we can see if it's helped him any," Atem said. He looked to Seto.

"You want me to put that lunatic in my medical center?!" the businessman cried.

"Well, we can hardly take him to a regular hospital, Kaiba," Atem pointed out.

Seto scowled. "Alright. I'll take him. But I'd better not regret it."

Atem sighed. "Hopefully, none of us will regret it." From his eyes, he wondered if sending him to the Shadow Realm would have been a better option. Still, once in there he might have started a disastrous feud with Yami Marik. Or maybe Khu would have seen him and mistaken him for the Yami Bakura from this dimension. Maybe this was the best option.

"There's something else I'm wondering," Yami Bakura remarked. "Why is he solid?"

Yugi's eyes widened. "You don't think he's still using his Bakura's body?!"

"He shouldn't be," Yami Bakura said. "The destruction of Zorc and the Millennium Ring should have pulled him apart from his host. Plus, I'm certain his Bakura would be fighting against him after awakening to see all the destruction he was causing."

"So . . . what other option is there?" Tristan wondered. "How can he be solid?"

"There is one other possibility," Yami Bakura said. "He told us he took the knowledge of how to put us in a Shadow Game without the Millennium Ring from that demon. What if he also took the knowledge of how to make a solid form for himself?"

"Oh wow," Yugi breathed. "Yeah. That's probably what he did!"

"Oh great!" Tristan threw his hands in the air. "As if one nutcase who does that isn't more than enough!"

Marik looked sickened. So long after his Yami should have been destroyed, he was still enduring in the darkness and causing trouble. And none of it would be possible if Marik hadn't created him in the first place.

Rishid laid a hand on Marik's shoulder. "I blame your father for that being's creation," he said quietly. "And my own inability to do more to help you."

Marik looked up with a start. "But it was only because of you that I was able to restrain him for as long as I did, Rishid!" he cried. "Without you, I would have dissolved into madness the day I received the Tombkeeper's Initiation!"

Ishizu sighed. "Our family lived in darkness for so many generations, believing that abominable act was good and righteous in spite of all the proof that it was not. So many Ishtars went mad because of the horror of that ritual, and that was documented in our books." She looked down. "To be honest, I don't believe our father was sane either."

Marik looked away. "I hope now he's found some peace," he said quietly. "And I hope he regrets how he treated Rishid."

"Even if he never does, that is alright," Rishid said. "It's over. We have all moved into the light."

"Only how can we fully live in the light when that evil being keeps coming out of the darkness to torment us?!" Marik burst out. "I thought renouncing him and casting him into the shadows would destroy him, but living in the darkness has only made him stronger! And now this other Yami Bakura has even taken some of his dark knowledge for himself! Who else might learn and come after us?! What if the alternate Yami Marik has endured as well and follows him here?!"

"Marik . . ." Mokuba grabbed his friend's hand. "Thinking about all the What Ifs is only gonna make it worse. . . ."

Marik looked down at the younger boy. "You're wise, Mokuba," he said with a sigh. "I know you're right . . . even though that still doesn't make it easy to stop thinking about things."

Seto walked over to the Game Master, giving him a distasteful look before taking out his phone and calling for his limousine. "I'd better get this madman out of here before your nosy neighbors wonder why there's two of you," he growled at Yami Bakura.

"Oh, I'm sure they've been observing ever since we arrived," Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura flamed red and looked to the house next-door. Indeed, the curtains were fluttering.

"Hey, how are all of us gonna get home?" Crump wondered.

"We could simply call our chauffeurs to bring the cars around," Gansley pointed out. ". . . Although I imagine we would like to stay together after everything that's happened." The others nodded. "I'll call my chauffeur."

"And maybe some of us will just hang out here for a while?" Joey said. Seeing Yami Bakura's frown, he quickly added, "If that's alright with you, Bakura. I know we're all pretty shaken up about all of this. . . ."

"And we lost you for a while there," Tristan said.

Bakura blinked in surprise, then gave a kind smile. "Of course you can stay," he said. He knew Yami Bakura wanted some time alone with him, but the others were his friends as well and he also wanted to help them. They had all suffered in this twisted game.

"Great!" Joey exclaimed.

"We won't stay long," Yugi said, mostly to Yami Bakura, who grunted.

Before long Seto's and Gansley's limousines arrived. Seto loaded the Game Master into his vehicle and prepared to leave with Mokuba and the Ishtars. The Big Five started to climb into Gansley's limo.

"Gansley?" Yugi called after him.

He looked back questioningly.

Yugi smiled. "I'm really glad we all got out of this alive. It was good, fighting alongside you."

Gansley nodded. "We made a good team, Yugi. And I imagine in the future we'll be partnered again."

"The way things go, probably," Yugi chuckled. Sobering, he added, "I just hope next time won't be so life-threatening."

"Do we ever work together when it isn't life-threatening?" Gansley grunted.

"We're gonna have to go back to New Orleans soon to testify in court against Lector's dad and Dr. Raven," Crump remembered. "That shouldn't be life-threatening. I know it won't be fun, though."

Lector sighed and nodded in complete agreement.

"And even when things start out innocently enough, it always seems like eventually it degrades into something disastrous," Yami Bakura pointed out.

"Ugh. Unfortunately true," Téa groaned.

Mokuba hugged Lector. "Well, I'm sure happy we're all safe," he said softly.

Lector returned the gesture. "I hope you won't have too many nightmares, Mokuba."

Mokuba shuddered. "I probably will, but what else is new."

Seto glowered into the limo at the prone form of the Game Master. His expression clearly said, I won't forgive this.

Everyone bade their goodbyes and the two limos drove off. Both those staying and those going wondered what calamity might happen next . . . and prayed for a little reprieve before it did.

****

Lector was especially concerned about Nesbitt as they drove back to Gansley's house. From the others' expressions, so were they. It wasn't usual for Nesbitt to be so subdued and quiet.

"Nesbitt, surely you're not still blaming yourself for Bakura falling," Gansley finally spoke. "Or for what happened to me?"

"I don't know." Nesbitt sank wearily into the plush seat. "I don't want to, and logic tells me not to, but in spite of everything I've said, I'm really not very good at listening to logic."  
"You did save Joseph's sister," Johnson reminded him.

"And you got hurt in the process." Lector frowned. He had found quite a bump when they had examined Nesbitt after that experience. Had it vanished now that they were back in the real world?

Apparently not; Nesbitt touched the tender spot and grimaced. "At least I did something right."

"You've done a lot of things right," Lector insisted. "It's just not so easy to remember them when things go wrong."

Nesbitt considered that. "That makes sense, I guess."

"But we'll be here to help you remember," Gansley told him.

"And thank God we're all here," Crump said gruffly.

Everyone was in firm agreement.

"We've had far too many close calls," Johnson said with a shudder. "And not just in Shadow Games, but in reality."

"Man, I hope there won't be any Shadow Games in New Orleans," Crump cringed.

"I wish we didn't have to go back to New Orleans," Lector muttered. "But I knew it was coming and I knew it would have to be done."

"We'll get through it," Gansley said. "Then we'll all come home and hopefully not leave again for a while."

"No kidding!" Crump exclaimed. "With everything going on, it's been hard to focus on getting Penguin World ready to open!"

"We'll have time for it soon," Gansley said. "A new project always moves slowly at first, even without all the chaos."

"I just hope it'll be more successful than the Bendy Land in that creepy game," Crump said.

"With all of us working on it, it'll be a hit," Lector insisted.

"And it should give us some much-needed good press," Johnson said.

"You're still onboard, right, Nesbitt?" Crump asked.

Nesbitt started. "What? . . . Yes."

"We'll think about it later," Gansley said. "Right now we should focus on recovering from this madness."

Lector wondered how long that would take. The more things piled on them, the more distressing it became. They were all being stretched to their limits.

"I wonder how those kids handle all that saving the world," he mused. "They're still relatively normal and grounded for the most part, despite all the terrible things they've been going through."

"Maybe because they always come out of it together?" Nesbitt suggested.

"Then I'd say we should be able to handle it as well," Gansley said.

"We're less suited to it than they are," Nesbitt said. "They're good kids. They haven't gone astray."

"We're getting there," Gansley said. "Yugi was right that all of us do work together well. Anyway, some of them went very far astray in the past, such as the Ishtar boy."

"That's true," Nesbitt conceded. "Although as I understand it, in his twisted mind he was seeking justice for what he thought was the murder of his father."

"And still dragging innocent people into it," Lector said, "just as we did in our schemes."

Gansley nodded. "If he can get set on a better path, there's no reason why all of us can't stick with it."

"We're gonna," Crump insisted.

"You know, I don't really deserve any of this kindness you've been showing me," Nesbitt suddenly blurted, looking up at Lector. "I treated you like dirt when Gansley was gone, but you've just been right here for me ever since I found you after you left. Yami Bakura lashed into me, and maybe I didn't deserve what he said, but you didn't deserve what I said. I just got a taste of my own medicine."

Lector sighed. ". . . I hadn't even really stopped to consider the irony or the possible poetic justice. You were hurt when you didn't deserve it, and I wasn't going to stand by and not be there for you. Remember how we talked about families?" Nesbitt weakly nodded. "There wouldn't really be love if we only cared when the person was pleasant to be around. You frustrate me so many times, and today you deeply hurt me, but I always love you. And you understand that better than you might think right now. You never stop caring about me when you're angry with me, do you?"

"No," Nesbitt said slowly.

"There you go," Lector said quietly.

"It's not logical," Nesbitt frowned.

"You're saying it would be logical to only care when people are kind?" Gansley grunted.

"No. . . . But . . . I mean, giving people too many chances could lead to toxic and abusive relationships," Nesbitt said.

"You have to know the person well enough to be able to discern if they deserve more chances," Lector said. "And I will admit that unfortunately some people don't seem to be able to tell, and some are more tolerant than others whether it's deserved or not, but I know you do deserve more chances, Nesbitt. You're a good person."

"And we all care deeply about you," Johnson added.

Nesbitt looked down. "Thank you," he said to the floor. His voice was gruff and awkward, but humble.

****

Mokuba wasn't sure what to think as he stood and observed the alternate Yami Bakura resting in one of the KaibaCorp medical center's private rooms. "I don't know if this is really a good idea," he said.

"Neither do I," Seto grunted. "I would have rather they had sent him away." He turned, stalking out of the room. "There's no guarantee he'll come out of the coma with his mind any better than before."

"I wonder if his Bakura misses him at all," Mokuba said.

"I guess anything's possible," Marik said. "I have certainly never missed the being I created. And the descriptions of what was happening in this other dimension were unsettling. His Bakura might be grateful to be rid of him . . . unless deep down, he fears being alone even more."

"There's nothing left to do but wait and see what happens. And keep guards on this room at all times," Seto said. "I won't let someone like Dr. Portman break all the rules and get in here to release a patient again."

"Good idea," Mokuba said.

It was a relief to get out of the room. Seto quickly led the others back outside to the limousine.

"I wonder how many other dimensions there are, and if we'll ever meet anyone from any more of them," Mokuba said.

"Let's hope not," Seto said. "This dimension and its people are more than enough to deal with."

Marik had to smirk, but he wondered himself what the other worlds were like. Had he cracked up in the other worlds? Judging from what the Game Master had said about his world, Marik wouldn't be surprised if somehow or another, he was even darker in that world.

"I wonder if we're friends in other dimensions," Mokuba said.

Marik smiled. "I'm sure we are. Some things don't change much across dimensions."

"Maybe that means there's hope for this Yami Bakura and his Bakura," Mokuba mused.

"It's a nice thought," Marik said. "We'll have to see."

****

Bakura found Yami Bakura at their computer after everyone left. He had opened Steam and seemed to be in the process of determining whether he wanted to download Bendy and the Ink Machine.

Bakura stared. "You're really going to play the game, Yami? After all we went through?"

Yami Bakura growled. "I went up against another me and I couldn't do a thing to change his mind or fight against him. At least this is something I can control."

Bakura sighed. "Yami, I'm so sorry." He sat next to his friend. "I wish I could have stopped myself from falling overboard into the ink machine. I don't even know how it happened. One minute I was trying to get away from Bendy, and the next . . ." He shuddered.

Yami Bakura leaned back in the chair and folded his arms. "It really doesn't matter how, except that I didn't see it happen and I didn't stop it."

"That wasn't your fault," Bakura frowned.

"In New Orleans, Yugi and the Pharaoh even found out that I'm apparently supposed to be the leader now!" Yami Bakura suddenly spat. "My Infinity Ring is the top Infinity Item. What kind of a leader lets the person closest to him fall into oblivion?!"

"Even a leader doesn't see everything," Bakura insisted. "The Pharaoh has admitted that there were things he wishes he had done differently and that he regrets some of his actions, including some of his encounters with you. He wishes he had never sealed your soul into the Millennium Ring. He didn't know then what he knows now." He paused. "And honestly, Yami, from what I've heard, you were a leader in the game. You didn't see me fall, but you caught and saved someone you did see fall. And you went to confront the other you all alone to keep everyone else safe."

Yami Bakura glowered at the desk. "I raked Nesbitt over the coals when he actually didn't deserve it for once. That's hardly the behavior of a leader. And I went off alone because I thought the other me would be more likely to come out that way."

"And you were right," Bakura said. "As for Nesbitt, I don't know what you said, but you could always tell him you're sorry."

Yami Bakura flushed. "I barely apologize to you, and you're suggesting I apologize to someone I barely know or like?"

"If you really want to become a better leader, Yami, one important lesson is being humble," Bakura said softly. "I did notice that you acknowledged to him that you did wrong, and that was a big step by itself. I'm very proud of you for that."

Yami Bakura gave a half-hearted shrug. Naturally Bakura would find something positive and focus on that.

"I'll think about it," he said at last.

He turned his attention back to the computer. As Bakura watched, he clicked the Download button.


End file.
